▌│█║▌║▌║ coмe on, coмe on, don’т leave мe lιĸe тнιѕ. ║▌║▌║█│▌
Hattori knew he was being a huge cheater. He and Hakuba had made a bet – on what he couldn’t remember now – and Hattori had won. The winner got to choose one thing for the other to do, and they had to do it no matter what. Hattori had a few ideas, but when he’d seen this advertised in the area, he pointed to it and grinned.
Hakuba would have to accompany him to a haunted house.
One of the locals in the area had inherited a house and done it up for Halloween. You could buy tickets at the door and groups of two would go into the house, exploring the jump scares and likes. He knew the other feared ghosts, but it wasn’t like this was a real haunted house, just one made by someone who could likely use the extra cash. There would be people in masks waiting to jump out at you, low lighting and fake spider webs.
▌│█║▌║▌║ ι тнoυgнт ι нad yoυ ғιgυred oυт ║▌║▌║█│▌
At least that had been what he’d thought. Now that he was standing in line – there was a rather large one – the house itself gave him the Hebe jebes. There was something about the large mansion like place, it’s rusted iron gates and the lights that would flicker on and off, at least from what he could see from outside. He had heard people talk about doors slamming closed, rattling and that there were no actors.
Of course that could just be people trying to hype it up.
Either way, the smoke machine he could spot in the corner, the long grass, unraked leaves and fake tombstones in the front yard definitely gave the house a haunted atmosphere. He could also see the usage of black lights from one of the boarded up windows – most of them were, if not filled with iron bars. It was the very picture of ‘enter at your own risk’ that was for sure.
▌│█║▌║▌║ can’т вreaтнe wнenever yoυ’re gone ║▌║▌║█│▌
Hattori played with the rim of his hat.
He wasn’t superstitious himself, even though Kazuha was – always making him wear that charm – and yeah, sometimes he had dreams that sometimes came true. Well, not so much come true, that only really happen ed once or twice. It was just his over active imagination mixed with his detective abilities making them seem like prophetic dreams. No one could actually see the future.
There was still something about this house that seemed off.
▌│█║▌║▌║ can’т тυrn вacĸ now, ι’м нaυnтed ║▌║▌║█│▌
He was thankful when it was their turn. He forked out the money, paying for both tickets – he was the one who dragged Hakuba into this – before the other could protest and headed towards the front door. He grinned at the blonde, hands resting behind his back innocent as he watched him. If Hakuba seemed too scared, or like he would be sick Hattori would pull out.
He wasn’t that cruel.
“Ya ready Hakuba? This is i’, las’ chance ta pull ou’.”
“I’ll be fine…” came Hakuba’s somewhat distracted reply as he looked the house over, expression carefully neutral though his legs were stiff and unwilling to move forward without a considerable amount of effort. He’d explored houses like this before. And castles. Ruins. Catacombs. It left a chill on him that he couldn’t quite shake, but he wasn’t about to back out now. Not with Hattori goading him.
With a deep breath, he forced himself forward, chin up, jaw tight. The chances of the house legitimately being haunted were slim, anyway, and he wasn’t exactly one to be frightened by jump scares (usually), so it wouldn’t be a problem. Really.
“Besides, it’s Halloween. This country doesn’t appreciate it enough as-is, so I’ve got to do something in spirit with the season…”
