Chapter Text
>>>><<<<
Megumi blinked his eyes open slowly, his vision swimming before it settled. The first thing he noticed was the high ceiling towering above him; white, spacious, and unfamiliar in a way that still startled him every morning.
He pushed himself upright and rubbed at his eyes with the heel of his palms, trying to shake away the last remnants of sleep. When he finally looked around, the room stretched out before him like something out of a catalog rather than somewhere a child was meant to live.
There was a huge, long desk with a sleek computer sitting there. Megumi had his little calendar, clock, reading lamp, and a cute little cactus. There were little drawers on top, too. Inside were neatly arranged color pencils, crayons, pens, and highlighters.
Nearby stood a tall bookshelf filled to the brim with thick books, novels, and dictionaries, all meticulously arranged in straight lines. Another matching shelf stood on the other side of the desk, but instead of books, it was filled with toys, figurines, car models, soft plush toys, and things Megumi wasn’t even sure he should touch.
Sometimes he forgot this was his room now. It was all too much, too well furnished, almost too perfect.
The room itself was massive, bigger than anything he could imagine having for himself. He even had his own bathroom attached, something he had once assumed only existed in hotels or wealthy people’s homes. And then there was the walk-in closet, a whole separate room simply for storing his clothes.
When Megumi first saw it, he had honestly believed they were joking. Who needed that much space just for shirts and trousers? But apparently, Satoru and Suguru had considered it normal. Now, he had an entire room dedicated to clothing, and it still felt absurd every time he opened the door.
Everything felt surreal. Just a month ago, Megumi had been living his everyday life in England; waking up in a much smaller bedroom, going to school, racing his friends on the playground, and spending nearly every afternoon with Suguru. They would laugh, eat together, and do homework. Megumi never doubted that tomorrow would look the same as today.
But reality was, everything did change. It wasn’t that Megumi was unhappy; it was just that everything had changed so quickly. Nothing in his life felt permanent anymore. He had begun to realize that things could shift, vanish, or be taken away in a blink.
The boy yawned softly and slid out of bed, padding across the room to pull open his bedroom door. The hallway outside stretched long and quiet and empty at this hour. At the very end of it was Satoru and Suguru’s room. Megumi stared down the corridor and wondered idly how many steps it would take for him to reach their door.
A memory floated back, one from when they had first moved to England. Megumi remembered lying awake that first night, staring at a ceiling he didn’t recognize, heart pounding with discomfort. He had finally given in and snuck quietly down to Suguru’s room. Suguru never scolded him, not once. He always smiled and pulled the blankets back so Megumi could slide under them. Suguru would wrap an arm around him, warm and steady, and Megumi would finally fall asleep.
Megumi closed his bedroom door again, letting the quiet click echo through the enormous space.
He was almost ten now. Big enough, old enough, that sneaking into Suguru’s room for comfort wasn’t something he should be doing anymore. That was something small kids did. Not him. Not anymore.
Megumi retreated to his bed and lay flat on his back, staring at the ceiling as the room pressed around him. He turned his head toward the alarm clock on the bedside table.
3:25 AM.
Well, there was still some time before the sun was up. He let out a quiet sigh and curled onto his side, drawing his knees closer to his chest. Megumi, despite knowing he shouldn’t, felt unbearably alone.
After a moment, he lifted his hands and formed a familiar shadow sign. A soft pulse of cursed energy flickered in the air. A second later, his white Divine Dog materialized beside him, tail wagging, eyes bright with instinctive affection. The dog immediately pressed in close, nudging at Megumi’s face before enthusiastically licking his cheek.
A tiny laugh escaped him. Megumi wrapped his arms around the dog’s warm neck, pulling it close until the steady rise and fall of its breathing settled against his chest. With Shiro curled protectively at his side, Megumi finally drifted back into sleep.
>>>><<<<
“Good morning.”
A soft, familiar voice pulled him out of sleep. Megumi tried to open his eyes, but the bright morning sunlight immediately spilled across his face, forcing him to squint and groan. He shoved the blanket up to his face, hiding from the world.
“Come on, Megumi. You have to wake up.”
He felt the mattress dip; someone had sat down beside him.
Megumi let out a pitiful whine and peeked out from under the blanket. “I wanna sleep. I’m tired.”
“It’s already morning. You have to wake up,” Suguru murmured, gently brushing Megumi’s messy hair away from his face.
Megumi sighed dramatically and stayed sprawled on the bed, unmoving.
“What is it? Did you have a nightmare?” Suguru asked in a soft voice.
Megumi puffed his cheeks. “No. I’m not a baby.” He pushed himself upright, hair sticking up in every possible direction.
Suguru chuckled. “Okay, okay.” He stood and extended a hand toward him. “Come on, you don’t want to be late for school, do you?”
Another sigh, but Megumi took his hand. Suguru guided him down to the bathroom before stepping back.
“I’ll see you downstairs for breakfast, okay?” Suguru said, closing the door behind him.
Megumi yawned and lifted his head toward the mirror. His hair was a wild mess, sticking up in every possible direction. His cheeks were blotchy from sleep, and he still looked half-dreaming. Another sigh escaped him as he forced himself to start getting ready. He brushed his teeth mechanically, showered, and dried off.
After that, he shuffled into his closet. His school uniform hung neatly, crisp, ironed, and still faintly warm. Megumi dressed slowly, tugged on his socks, grabbed his bag and hairbrush, and then headed downstairs.
The dining table was already set, with breakfast prepared for two.
“Where’s Satoru?” Megumi asked as he slid into his chair. He placed his backpack on the seat beside him.
Suguru approached, taking the brush from Megumi’s hands. Without saying anything, he began running it through Megumi’s hair with gentle, practiced strokes. Megumi’s hair wasn’t tangled, but the teachers insisted it be neat, so Suguru always helped him tame it every morning.
“Satoru’s not going to be home for a while,” Suguru said quietly. “But he’ll be back as soon as he can.”
Megumi hummed in acknowledgement and started eating. It wasn’t the first time Satoru had gone on a long mission. When Megumi was six, there were stretches where Satoru disappeared for days at a time.
“Wait,” Megumi said with a small frown, “so who’s gonna drive me to school?”
“Well,” Suguru said as he set the brush aside, “I’m taking you. But we’re going to use the train.”
Megumi blinked, then nodded. “Hmm. Okay.”
.
.
After breakfast, the quiet rhythm of the morning settled over the house. Megumi crouched by the entryway, slipping on his shoes. Upstairs, Suguru was rustling around for his jacket and bag. A moment later, he came down holding something carefully in one hand.
“Don’t forget this,” Suguru said gently. “You have a violin lesson today, right?”
Megumi puffed out a small huff as Suguru offered the violin case to him. He took it with both hands, grumbling a quiet, “Hmm.”
Megumi still didn’t understand why he needed violin lessons. Satoru had insisted it would be “good for your brain” and “good for discipline,” whatever that meant. Suguru, on the other hand, just smiled whenever Megumi complained and helped him tune the strings on weekends.
They stepped outside into the cool morning air. Suguru locked the door behind them with a soft click.
“Okay, let’s go,” Suguru said as he reached down and gently took Megumi’s hand.
Megumi let him, falling into step beside him as they headed toward the station.
>>>><<<<
Megumi’s day at school was, for the most part, uneventful. The first period was science, one of the few subjects he actually liked. The teacher explained things clearly, didn’t shout. Pretty good, in Megumi’s book. The rest of his teachers were decent, too, neither too strict nor overly cheerful.
His classmates, however, were another story.
Megumi still couldn’t quite understand them. Half of them acted like royalty, noses perpetually tilted upward. The other half were loud, dramatic, or trying too hard to impress one another. Either way, he wasn’t planning to hang out with any of them, so it didn’t really matter.
At least his classes went smoothly. No one bothered him. No bizarre group activities. And when the clock finally hit 11:35, Megumi let out a breath of relief. Lunch time.
Students spilled into the hallways in noisy waves, walking toward the cafeteria. Megumi followed along at his own pace. Today’s menu was kare rice, warm and fragrant, and actually delicious.
He found an empty seat by the window and settled quietly, grateful for a moment of peace. The hum of chatter around him was distant enough to ignore. He focused on eating, savoring the mild spice and warmth of the curry. For a few minutes, everything was comfortable.
Then he heard footsteps coming to him.
Megumi glanced up; three students. All of them were his classmates. They didn’t look hostile, but they also didn’t look like the type who usually approached him. One slid casually into the seat beside him, the other two taking the seats across from him without asking.
“Hey,” the boy next to him said. “You’re Megumi, right?”
Megumi hesitated. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to respond, but ignoring them felt like it would cause more trouble. “…Yes,” he said carefully. “What do you want?”
“Nothing,” the boy across from him said quickly, hands raised like it was all innocent. “We just wanna be friends.”
Megumi stared at them, unimpressed. These kids had never talked to him before, never even looked at him, and now suddenly they wanted to be friends? Suspicious.
Megumi didn’t respond, and the boy beside him tried again, leaning his elbow on the table. “Hey, we’re actually going somewhere interesting after school. You wanna come?”
Megumi paused, spoon hovering above his plate. He studied their faces quietly. Something about them felt off. They didn’t look like the type who spent their afternoons doing anything good.
But then again, he could be wrong. Just because they looked a certain way didn’t mean they were bad people, right? Satoru always said he shouldn’t judge so quickly. Suguru said meeting new people was good for him.
So, after a moment of consideration, Megumi decided he would give them a chance.
Besides, school ended at 2 PM, and he had a good thirty minutes before his violin lesson started. These kids probably just wanted to go to an arcade or a convenience store, nothing wild. And honestly, Megumi didn’t see anything wrong with spending a bit of time playing games and then heading straight to his lesson.
It couldn’t be that bad… right?
>>>><<<<
Megumi definitely did not see this coming.
Instead of an arcade or a convenience store, the four of them were now standing in front of an old, abandoned house at the edge of the neighborhood. The wooden walls were covered in vines, the windows were cracked, and the whole place looked like it hadn’t been touched in years.
Megumi stared at it, unimpressed. “Why are we here?”
“Well,” one of the boys said, puffing up as if this were some great adventure, “we’re here to prove a rumor.”
Megumi raised an eyebrow. “What rumor?”
“They say this house is haunted!” another boy declared dramatically.
“Rumor says someone actually died here,” the third chimed in, eyes wide as though Megumi should be impressed.
Megumi scoffed and rolled his eyes. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Seriously? He thought they would go somewhere that was actually fun. But instead, he ended up with… whatever this was. Hocus pocus nonsense and a rundown building that smelled like trouble.
“They say people hear crying inside,” one of them added, lowering his voice for effect.
All three of them turned toward Megumi at once, clearly expecting a reaction.
“Now,” the ringleader said, grinning, “let’s go inside and see if it’s true.”
“What? Wait, we shouldn’t,” Megumi said immediately.
“Why? You scared?” one of them taunted.
“No,” Megumi answered too quickly.
That was not a lie. It was almost 2.30, and Megumi didn’t want to be late for his violin lesson. They spent some time getting to this place, so it would take even more time getting to his music academy. However, Megumi also didn’t want to appear as some scardy cat. He saw all kinds of curses every day; certainly, whatever thing inside that house was not going to scare him.
Megumi huffed. Perhaps being a bit late was okay.
“Fine,” Megumi said.
The three boys grinned, clearly pleased with themselves.
And just like that, the four of them slipped through the gate. Tall, thick grass brushed against their legs as they walked, and the old house loomed over them like a forgotten skeleton.
One of the boys twisted the doorknob. It clicked open without resistance. They peeked inside, then stepped in one by one. The house was surprisingly large. A two-story building with wide hallways and rooms big enough to echo.
Everything was coated in a thick layer of dust. Megumi sneezed as the air stirred. Disgusting.
“Wow, this place really is abandoned,” one of the boys said, dragging a finger across a dusty table and leaving a clean streak behind.
“This is stupid. I need to go to my lesson,” Megumi muttered.
“Wait, we haven’t even checked the second floor,” the ringleader insisted.
Megumi grumbled under his breath but followed them up the stairs. The floorboards creaked under their weight with every step, complaining loudly. The second floor had three bedrooms and a bathroom lined up along the hallway. They checked each room one by one; more dust, more old furniture, nothing special.
Finally, they entered the last bedroom.
Megumi looked around. “See? There’s nothing here,” Megumi said flatly.
That was also not a lie. Megumi knew the moment he set foot in this house that there was no ghost whatsoever. He didn’t feel any cursed energy or anything in this place. That rumor was most definitely a rumor after all.
But then…
BANGG…
Megumi spun around, startled by the suddenness of the sound. The door had slammed shut. He was alone in the room. From the other side of the door came muffled laughter, three distinct voices trying and failing to stifle their amusement.
Megumi rolled his eyes so hard it almost hurt. Oh my god. Seriously?
Was this the whole reason they dragged him all the way out here? To play some lame prank like this? Megumi was not amused.
Megumi was just about to shove the door open and give those three idiots a piece of his mind when…
Huhuhuu…
Megumi froze. The sound was faint at first, small, muffled, like it was slipping through thick walls. But it grew. Slowly. Uneasily. Until there was no mistaking it. A crying voice!
A cold shiver crawled down Megumi’s spine, the hairs on his arms standing up. The air shifted, charged with something he couldn’t name. A minute ago, the house felt empty, dead. But now… It felt occupied.
The crying came from somewhere outside the room. The hallway, maybe. Even the three boys outside had stopped laughing.
Megumi pushed the door open sharply. His classmates were huddled in front of it, their faces drained of color.
“D-Do you guys hear that?” one of them whispered, his voice trembling.
Megumi and the other two nodded stiffly.
“It’s coming from the bathroom,” another boy said, pointing with a shaky hand.
Just then, the crying stopped, like someone had pressed a mute button. A new sound replaced it.
Gushhh…
The sound of a faucet turning on and water rushing fast. Too fast.
The four of them went rigid. The three boys were shaking so hard they clung to each other like their lives depended on it.
Megumi’s throat tightened. The air had been normal a moment ago. Safe. Empty. So why did everything suddenly feel wrong?
He swallowed, eyes fixed on the bathroom door at the end of the hall, the sound of running water echoing through the abandoned house.
Then, a sudden rush of water spilled out from under the bathroom door. First a trickle, then a flood, spreading rapidly across the hallway and soaking their shoes.
“What’s happening?” one of the boys gasped, voice cracking with panic.
“Who cares?! Let’s go!” another shouted before turning and sprinting for the stairs.
The other two bolted after him, splashing through the water. Megumi followed until one of the boys slipped. His foot skidded on the wet floor, and he fell hard onto his side with a yelp.
His friends didn’t even look back. They just ran. Megumi stopped immediately.
“Come on, let’s go!” Megumi hissed, grabbing the fallen kid’s hand and pulling him up.
The boy scrambled to his feet. “Than—”
SLAMM…
The bathroom door burst open.
They froze.
A new sound followed; deep, gurgling, like something heavy shifting inside a full bathtub. Then came a wet, dragging noise, something slick and heavy pulling itself across tile.
Slish… shhkk… slish…
Megumi’s heart lurched.
A hand appeared first; pale, bony, fingers splayed unnaturally wide as it slapped onto the soaked floor. The skin looked stretched and wrinkled, like it had been underwater for days. It dragged forward, nails scraping faintly.
Then, slowly, horribly, a head slipped into view.
Long black hair hung over its face, strands dripping, clinging to the skin like seaweed. The neck bent at an odd angle, too low, too loose. Its movements were jerky, twitchy, like its joints weren’t connected properly.
It didn’t look at them at first.
It simply crawled halfway out of the bathroom, limbs trembling and contorting, water pouring off its body and mixing with the flood beneath them.
For a while, only the sound of running water filled the space. The two boys stiffened in place, holding their breaths. Then…
Crack.
Its head twisted. Not turned. Twisted.
The hair parted just enough to reveal a sliver of its face.
Its skin. Sickly grayish-blue, stretched too tightly over its skull, almost waxy, almost rotting.
Its eyes. White. Completely white. Only a tiny black pupil hovered in the center of each eye, unmoving, like dots of ink on blank paper. Those tiny black pupils never blinked, locked onto the two of them like prey.
Megumi’s breath caught in his throat. The kid beside him burst into tears, sobbing so hard his shoulders shook violently.
Megumi couldn’t blame him. He was shaking too, so badly his knees almost buckled.
The curse crawled fully into view.
Its body was twisted, joints bent the wrong way, limbs jerking in sharp, broken movements. Its skin was pale, almost translucent, stretched too tightly over its bones. Long strands of soaked black hair clung to its face and shoulders, dripping onto the floor.
Then, it grinned.
A horrible, wide, tearing grin that cracked its skin as it pulled back, making a wet, creaking sound like something splitting open. Its lips curled so high they almost reached its eyes.
With a slow, shuddering motion, it began to rise.
Up. And up. And up.
Until it stood nearly as tall as the doorframe, its head tilted slightly, that terrible grin widening as if pleased to see them trembling.
Megumi gritted his teeth. He shouldn’t be scared. Not of curses. Not after everything he had seen.
He slammed his palms together. A shadow rippled beneath his feet, sharp and fast.
Shiro burst out with a growl.
The curse tilted its head, jerking in that unnerving, puppet-like way, the tiny pupils fixing on the shikigami.
“Go, Shiro!” Megumi shouted.
Shiro lunged forward, fangs bared. But the curse’s hair moved first. It snapped outward like a living rope, strands stretching across the hallway and striking Shiro’s snout. Before Shiro could react, more hair coiled around the shikgami’s legs, tightening, pulling, and dragging Shiro off balance.
The dog slammed into the floor with a painful thud.
“No! Shiro!” Megumi cried, panic rising in his chest.
This was bad. This was really, really bad. Shiro was already pinned, and that thing hadn’t even tried yet.
A sudden scream tore through the hallway.
The curse’s hair shot out again, wrapping around the boy beside Megumi, binding his torso and arms in a suffocating grip.
“What? I can’t move! Megumi, help! Help!” he cried, sobbing hysterically as the hair pulled him toward the curse inch by inch.
Megumi’s heart hammered against his ribs.
Should he summon Kuro? No!
If Shiro couldn’t last more than a second, Kuro wouldn’t fare any better. And if Kuro was defeated too, the curse would come straight for him next.
With great effort, Megumi closed his eyes and tried to focus. He replayed every training lesson Satoru had drilled into him.
Curses are dangerous, Megumi.
Yes, yes, he knew that. What else?
I’m the strongest, so there are no curses I couldn’t defeat!
Yes, yes, please, what else?
Someday, you’re gonna be as strong as me, but right now, you cannot exorcise big curses yet.
Megumi opened his eyes, revelation came to him.
Fighting dangerous curses is impossible for you now.
Satoru’s voice echoed in his head.
Megumi immediately pulled Shiro back into the shadows.
So your only choice…
Megumi brought his palms together, resolve solidifying in his chest.
… is to run…
He inhaled deeply. “Come! Datto!”
The floor rippled like liquid shadow, and in the next breath, a flood of bunnies surged upward. Dozens, no, hundreds of bunnies burst forth, forming a dense, churning wave. They swarmed the curse in a chaotic flurry of paws and ears, blocking its vision, tangling in its hair, forcing a distorted screech from the curse.
The Bunny Escape! One of the first techniques Satoru had ever taught him, way back when Megumi was just six years old and barely reaching Satoru’s hip.
Seizing the opening, Megumi spun toward his friend. He summoned Shiro again in a flash of shadows, and the white dog lunged forward, clamping its jaws around the cursed hair wrapped around the boy’s torso. One hard yank and the hair snapped free.
Megumi’s friend stumbled backward, wide-eyed as he stared at the huge dog in front of him, but he didn’t scream, just trembled silently while Megumi brushed the last strands of hair off him.
“What’s going on?” he whispered.
“No time to explain,” Megumi said, grabbing his wrist. “Let’s go.”
Megumi seized his friend’s hand, and the two of them bolted down the hallway toward the stairs. They ran and ran, and the moment the front door came into view, Megumi felt a flicker of relief. He lunged for the handle, twisted it, and yanked the door open.
However, instead of the outside world, a genkan greeted them.
“What?” Megumi breathed.
His friend burst into louder sobs. “What is happening?”
It was the exact same genkan they were already standing in! Same walls, same floor, same racks. Before they could process it, a shrill screech tore down from upstairs, followed by slow, deliberate footsteps descending the staircase.
Megumi didn’t think. He just grabbed his friend again and ran straight through the doorway.
But the moment they crossed the threshold, they were still in the genkan. No illusion. No trick of the eyes. They were really trapped.
Panic surged through Megumi’s chest, heat rising to his throat. He didn’t know what kind of curse could twist space like this, but he had never seen anything like it.
Then a new sound emerged. Laughter. Warped and echoed through the walls, bouncing from every direction. Mocking. Hungry.
Megumi pulled his friend along and sprinted past the long hallway and in toward the downstairs bathroom, slamming the door behind them.
“Mommy…” his classmate choked, face blotchy and wet.
Megumi wanted to snap at him to be quiet, but his own throat was tight. He wanted to cry, too. He wanted Satoru to kick the door down. He wanted Suguru to be here, calm and steady and warm.
Suguru!
That was it! Megumi could call Suguru. Luckily, Satoru and Suguru deemed him responsible enough to hold on to a phone in case there was an emergency.
Quickly, with trembling hands, Megumi ripped open his bag and dumped everything onto the tiles; textbooks, pencil case, loose papers scattering everywhere. And there, sliding across the floor, was his phone.
The curse’s laughter grew louder, closer, scraping along the hallway like something dragging itself toward them.
Megumi snatched the phone and opened his contacts, tapping Suguru’s name with shaking fingers.
Once, not working. Twice, not working. Thrice, still not working. What?
Megumi looked at the screen and just realized that there was no reception. Zero bars. The phone fell from his hand. There was nothing he could do now.
The bathroom door creaked, inch by inch, as if pushed open by something with no weight at all. Megumi’s stomach dropped.
And then it appeared.
The curse stood in the doorway, its grin stretching far too wide, teeth jagged and dripping. Its wet hair dragged behind it, leaving a dark smear on the floor. Its pupils, tiny black dots locked onto Megumi, and his breath hitched so sharply it hurt.
A rattling, broken laugh tore from its throat, vibrating through the small bathroom. The sound was so warped it almost didn’t resemble laughter at all, more like choking and wheezing twisted together.
Megumi couldn’t move. His whole body locked up, as if the sound alone had frozen his blood. His lungs refused to pull in air; every breath hitched in his chest, shallow and panicked.
His friend pressed against him, arms circling around him, sobbing loudly. Somehow, Megumi felt responsible. He wasn’t able to get them both out of this situation. Megumi wasn’t strong enough. Therefore, they both were going to die.
However, before it could step inside, something slammed into it with a violent crash. So hard the impact shook the floor beneath their feet. The curse screeched, an awful metallic sound, and the hallway erupted into chaos; thuds, snarls, something tearing, and the crack of floors breaking.
Megumi couldn’t even bring himself to step out and look. His legs were shaking too violently, his fingers numb, his body frozen by fear. His friend still clung to him, trembling.
And then… Silence.
A heavy, suffocating stillness wrapped around them. Even his friend’s crying had gone quiet. The two boys exchanged a terrified, wide-eyed glance.
Footsteps approached; steady, human, familiar. And then someone appeared in the doorway.
“What? Megumi!”
Suguru. It was Suguru. His face. His voice. His energy.
Megumi’s knees nearly gave out. His vision blurred, heat flooding his eyes before the tears fell all at once. He threw himself forward and clung to Suguru with all the strength he had left.
“Suguru!” Megumi sobbed, voice breaking.
His friend, just as overwhelmed, burst into tears too and ran into Suguru, clinging to him desperately.
>>>><<<<
Suguru kept a steady hand on both their backs as they stepped out into the light. Megumi felt the tension in his shoulders loosen the moment the air outside hit his face.
The house loomed silently behind them, but at least they were no longer inside it. He and his friend still clung to Suguru like lifelines, their hands fisted in the fabric of his clothes.
Parked right in front of the gate was a familiar black car, engine still running. The driver’s door opened, and Ijichi stepped out briskly.
“Geto-san, you’re done with the mission—” His voice cut off the moment he took in the sight of two teary, trembling children attached to Suguru. His eyes widened, panic flooding his expression. “What? Megumi-kun? And who…?”
“It’s okay, Ijichi,” Suguru said calmly, giving him a reassuring nod.
Ijichi looked far from convinced but nodded stiffly.
Megumi’s friend sniffled beside him, wiping his nose with his sleeve. Suguru crouched down to his level, voice gentle, warm in the way that always made Megumi relax without realizing.
“Hi there,” Suguru said softly. “I’m Suguru. What’s your name?”
Megumi watched his friend’s face turn a little pink. The boy hesitated, eyes still shiny from crying, then whispered. “M-My name’s Ryunosuke.”
Suguru smiled, “Okay then, Ryunosuke. We’re going to take you home, alright? Can you tell us where you live?”
The boy nodded, small and slow.
.
.
And just like that, all of them were sitting together inside the car. Suguru sat with them in the back, while Ijichi drove alone up front. Ijichi kept glancing at the rearview mirror, sweating nervously. The ride was silent; no one said a single word.
When they finally reached his friend’s house, Suguru got out with the boy and told Megumi to wait in the car. Turned out, his friend lived only a few blocks away. Megumi could only watch from the window as Suguru spoke with the boy’s mother at the doorstep.
Megumi sighed and slumped in his seat. They were talking for a while. Megumi only hoped that Suguru didn’t get into trouble because of this.
“Do you want water, Megumi?” Ijichi offered gently.
Megumi didn’t lift his head. He only shook it.
After some time, Suguru returned and stepped back into the car.
“Ijichi, could you take us home, please?” Suguru said.
“Yes, of course,” Ijichi replied quickly.
The ride home was silent as well. Megumi didn’t dare utter a single word. His hands were tight on his knees, and he stared at the faint reflection of his own face in the window. He wondered what time it was now, especially since the sky outside had already turned a deep, glowing orange.
>>>><<<<
Once they arrived home, Suguru said farewell to Ijichi, then gently ushered Megumi inside. Megumi trailed behind him silently, his steps small and uncertain. When they reached the living room, Suguru told him to sit on the couch.
Meanwhile, Suguru headed into the kitchen, the soft clink of glass echoing faintly. Moments later, he returned with a glass of water.
“Here you go, Megumi,” he said, offering the glass.
Megumi took it with shaky hands, sipped once, then placed it carefully on the table as if afraid it might break. Suguru sat beside him.
“Now,” he said softly, “do you want to tell me what happened?”
Megumi bit his lip hard. He wanted to answer, he really did, but the second he tried, his throat closed. No words came out. His chest felt too small, too tight.
Suguru didn’t wait for an explanation. He pulled Megumi gently into his arms, hand moving through Megumi’s damp hair without the slightest hesitation.
“It’s okay, Megumi,” he murmured.
And that was all it took. Megumi broke.
A choked sob escaped him first, then another, until he was crying full force, gripping Suguru’s shirt like it was the only thing keeping him standing. Suguru held him firmly, rubbing his back in slow, steady circles, patient and warm, grounding him each time Megumi’s breath hitched.
Eventually, the storm of tears softened, sobs fading into small sniffles. When Megumi finally eased his hold, Suguru reached for the glass and handed it back to him. This time, Megumi drank the entire thing in a few long gulps.
Even after that, Megumi didn’t move away. He leaned into Suguru’s chest, listening to the steady heartbeat beneath his ear, each thump calming him more than he expected, each breath reminding him that he was safe.
“They asked me to come with them,” Megumi finally said after a long stretch of silence.
Suguru didn’t push. He just kept rubbing slow circles on Megumi’s back, letting him speak at his own pace.
“We just wanted to see the house,” Megumi continued, voice trembling but steady enough. “I didn’t feel anything when I came inside the house.” He swallowed, a small sniff escaping him. “But then…”
“Alright,” Suguru murmured, pulling him closer, “I understand. It’s okay, Megumi.”
Megumi hesitated before looking up. His face was blotchy, cheeks streaked with dried and fresh tears, eyes red and swollen. “Are you mad at me?”
Suguru’s expression softened instantly. Not even a flicker of anger crossed his face. “No, baby,” he said gently, brushing his thumb across Megumi’s cheek. “How could I right now? You must’ve been so scared.”
He wiped away the tears clinging to Megumi’s skin. “What matters is that you’re safe now.”
“I’m sorry,” Megumi whispered, voice cracking. “I’m sorry, I promise I’ll be good. It’s just, someone finally asked me to join them, and I… I…”
Suguru shushed him softly, fingertips catching the tears that spilled over again. “It’s okay, Megumi. Listen to me, I’m not mad at you, alright?”
Megumi nodded, though his eyes were still glassy, still unsure.
“I understand,” Suguru said with another warm smile, “so there’s no need to say sorry.”
Megumi’s lips trembled, and then he collapsed forward, burying himself in Suguru’s chest again. Suguru wrapped him up immediately, steady and warm, one hand rubbing up and down Megumi’s back while the other held the back of his head.
“It’s okay,” he murmured, pressing a soft kiss to Megumi’s hair, “I’ve got you.”
>>>><<<<
After a while, Suguru brought him upstairs and quietly drew him a warm bath. Since Megumi’s own bathroom didn’t have a tub, Suguru brought him into his and Satoru’s. When the water was ready, Suguru helped him step inside, then gathered Megumi’s dirty uniform before slipping out for a moment.
Soon, Suguru was back, sitting beside the tub as he shampooed Megumi’s hair with slow, soothing motions. Little by little, Megumi felt his muscles relax. The ache in his chest eased. The trembling that clung to him finally faded as the heat seeped deep into his skin. Every terrifying moment slipped further away.
After rinsing his hair, Suguru told him to hop into the shower while he went to fetch clothes. When Megumi finished and stepped out, he found a fresh set of clothes waiting neatly on the bed. He put them on, still warm from the bath, and padded downstairs.
Suguru was setting the takeout on the dining table. “Come sit, Megumi. Let’s eat together,” he called softly.
Megumi nodded and took his seat. The warm smell of beef udon filled the room, comforting and grounding.
They ate quietly, but the silence wasn’t heavy. Just calm. When they finished, Suguru took their bowls to the sink and returned with small boxes of mochies.
“Here you go, Megumi. Nanami bought these just for you. And he’s serious, so don’t tell Satoru, okay?” Suguru said with a little giggle.
Megumi picked a purple one and took a bite. Chewy, soft, perfectly sweet. Suguru only smiled, sitting across from him with quiet patience.
Megumi swallowed, then started. “We went there after school to check the house.”
Suguru nodded and remained quiet.
“It was four of us. My friends said there were rumors the house was haunted… We went in to check, but there was nothing.”
Megumi paused, gathering himself.
“When we went upstairs, my friends locked me in one of the rooms. I wasn’t scared then… but then we heard a crying sound out of nowhere.” His grip tightened on his pants. “We didn’t know what was happening. When things got weird, we tried to run. Two of my friends got out first, but Ryunosuke fell, so I stopped to help him.”
Megumi bit his lip hard. “That was when… that thing came out. Shiro couldn’t stop it.” He drew in a shaky breath. “It got Ryunosuke, and I didn’t know what else to do.”
He looked up at Suguru, voice small but steady. “So I summoned my bunnies.”
Suguru blinked, eyes widening. “Your Rabbit Escape?”
Megumi nodded.
“It bought just enough time for me to free my friend. But when we got to the front door…” He faltered, unable to explain the impossible twisting of space. “We just… We couldn’t get out.”
Megumi exhaled shakily. “That’s when I dragged Ryunosuke to hide in the bathroom. We thought we were done for.”
He lowered his gaze again, guilt crawling back into his stomach, heavy and cold.
Suguru nodded gently. “You’ve had a long day,” he murmured. “I’m sure you’re exhausted. Let’s get you to sleep, yeah?”
Megumi hesitated for a moment. “Can I sleep with you tonight?”
Suguru’s expression softened instantly. “Anytime you want, Megumi.”
.
.
Later, the two of them curled up together in bed. Megumi hadn’t even noticed how dark it had become outside; his entire body felt heavy with the weight of the day. Suguru put on a movie, something light and quiet, just to help settle him.
Warmth spread through the blankets. The sound of the film played faintly in the background. With Suguru’s steady breathing beside him and a safe arm wrapped around his shoulders, Megumi’s eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
>>>><<<<
The next day went more smoothly than Megumi expected. Suguru woke him up and helped him get ready for school. His uniform was already washed and neatly laid out. He ate breakfast at the table while Suguru gently brushed his hair.
The only unusual thing was Satoru face-timing them ridiculously early that morning. Megumi was munching on his toast while Satoru dramatically fussed over him through the screen.
“Bear with him for a bit, Megumi. He’s worried about you,” Suguru explained softly, “I wanted to tell him after he gets back, but well, what’s done is done.”
Apparently, Suguru had filled him in the night before. Since Megumi had missed his violin lesson without any notice, the academy had contacted Satoru to report that Megumi hadn’t shown up to class at all yesterday.
Satoru had ended up calling Suguru at night, asking him for an explanation. Of course, Suguru had walked him through it, every detail, every bit of what happened.
Satoru immediately promised to bring Megumi a mountain of snacks to cheer him up when he got home. Megumi only giggled and nodded.
>>>><<<<
When Suguru finally dropped him off at school, a wave of nerves crept up on Megumi’s skin. He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to face the three boys after everything, but Suguru reassured him gently that things would work out.
But oh well, as he predicted, the two boys who had escaped first didn’t say a word to him. They simply ignored him and acted as though nothing had happened.
But honestly, it was better this way. Megumi was tired of dealing with them anyway.
“Megumi…”
A quiet voice called out. Megumi turned to find Ryunosuke standing beside him.
“… yeah?” Megumi replied.
The boy fidgeted, his fingers twisting together. “I never got to say thank you…” He murmured. “You know…for saving me yesterday.”
Megumi’s eyes widened slightly. “It’s no trouble,” he said quickly, looking back toward his desk.
But Ryunosuke didn’t leave. “I heard today’s lunch is katsudon,” he offered softly.
Megumi didn’t respond.
“Wanna eat lunch together?” Ryunosuke offered.
Megumi looked up at him, then glanced toward the two boys across the room who were glaring at them. “What about your friends?”
“They can come too if they want,” his friend said, cheeks tinted pink. “But if they don’t… I still wanna eat lunch with you.”
Megumi blinked, surprised by how sincere he looked. Slowly, he nodded. “Okay.”
His friend brightened instantly. “Cool. And oh, you can just call me Ryu!”
A small smile tugged at Megumi’s lips before he could stop it. “Okay, Ryu.”
Things did work out after all.
.
.
.