Disclaimer: I do NOT own Hakuouki or anything related to it.


"Whose turn is it to pick the movie?"

"Mine."

The group froze at Sanan's response to Hijikata's question. They stayed frozen for a total of five seconds before exchanging glances to silently confirm if the bespectacled man was correct and when no one offered a denial, their true reactions came on full display. Souji grinned from ear to ear at Sanan, who reciprocated the expression. Saito and Yamazaki's faces remained neutral, though the latter could not prevent a droplet of sweat from dripping down his cheek. Hijikata stiffened. Harada and Shinpachi looked at one another in mutual uncertainty of how to properly react. Kondou and Chizuru smiled, the former appearing to be the very picture of cheerfulness while the girl just smiled out of naive courtesy. Heisuke gulped.

Every Friday night they would meet and watch a movie together of one person's choosing. Not sure what to expect from Sanan, most of the group (with the exception of Kondou, Chizuru, and Souji) had established no order in deciding which of them would be selecting the film (other than, of course, ensuring Sanan's turn was delayed for as long as possible). Had Heisuke known that the inevitable would come today, he would have fabricated an excuse to be absent this time.

Granted, it would be suspicious the first time and become even more so after more than one absence…

Sanan had turned away from his friends and was looking through the box of DVDs for a suitable film. Souji, still grinning, went to make popcorn. Heisuke wondered if Souji would be more entertained by whatever Sanan chose or by watching how the others reacted to it. Maybe both.

Shinpachi cleared his throat."Hey, Sanan-san, mind if we say-"

"If memories serves, Nagakura-kun, we agreed that whosever turn it was would make an indisputable decision and that his or her choice was to be respected." Sanan did not avert his attention from the box as he spoke in a calm, clear, matter-of-fact voice."I did not protest to anyone's preferences, even though there was at least one I did not enjoy in the slightest. I also did not protest before a selection could even be made." He paused as Shinpachi flinched, then returned to his task."So I do not think I am asking for much by expecting the same courtesy to be offered for myself."

Everyone else looked at Shinpachi, who was a combination of guilty and embarrassed.

Kondou stepped forward, lifting his hands in a gesture of peace."Now, now, it is only fair for us to do as Sanan says. I, for one, am looking forward to seeing how he surprises us."

Following Kondou's example, Chizuru clapped her hands."Me too."

"Me three!" Souji said as he arrived with two bowls of popcorn. He handed one to Kondou and plopped down on a coach."So what'd you pick, Sanan-san?" He asked, tossing a piece of popcorn into his mouth.

"You will see in a moment," Sanan said over his shoulder. Kondou gestured for everyone to sit on the coach while Sanan prepared everything.

Sighing, Heisuke did as Kondou said. He sat in between Harada and Chizuru and braced himself for a very…interesting hour-in-a-half.


It surprised no one when Sanan chose a horror film.

What also did not personally surprise Heisuke was how Souji alternated between jumping and laughing from enjoyment at the scary moments in the movie and displaying amusement at the reactions of the others. He occasionally nudged Sanan to whisper comments about what was going on, to which Sanan responded by nodding or whispering in agreement.

Saito and Yamazaki's expressions did not change from the ones they wore when Sanan revealed it was his turn to make the selection. That being said, their hands were shaking and they shifted in their seats sometimes. Hijikata muttered curses under his breath. Kondou, although he'd never admit it, was partially regretting his earlier enthusiasm as time passed. His smile was strained and he kept glancing at Hijikata and Souji, though they were too engrossed in what they were watching to notice.

At least, Heisuke thought, Shinpachi and Harada were too busy being frightened themselves to tease him about his own fear. It gave him plenty of freedom to tremble and flicker his eyes back and forth every few minutes.

If this was how well they handled it forty minutes in, most of them would be nervous wrecks once it was finished.

Chizuru covered her mouth to muffle a soft gasp at a particularly frightening scene and unknowingly scooted closer to Heisuke to the point that she nearly pressed into his side. Upon realizing what she'd done, she blushed and though he was blushing too, he didn't hesitate to offer her his hand, which she took. They squeezed each other's hands during a jump scare, Heisuke barely managing to stifle a cry of shock and fear that would have drawn Shinpachi and Harada's attention if they weren't equally affected by the terrors occurring on the screen. Heisuke would not be surprised if the pair threw their arms around one another at the next jump scare.

It took all of Heisuke's willpower not to burst out laughing when his two best friends did exactly as he predicted.


Somehow, by some miracle of Heaven, they survived.

In all honesty, Sanan had made an interesting selection. There wasn't too much gore despite there being a decent amount of character deaths and the scares were subtle and well-performed. Basically, a nice mix of nostalgia and new ideas.

But this also meant they had been scared shitless. Sanan and Souji's calm and cheerful wishes of goodnight did nothing to assuage those feelings, not that Heisuke expected them to.

He was currently in his room, the blanket pulled up to his chin and completely open eyes glued to the ceiling and he was certainly not quivering. He was also certainly not sweating. And even if his body was quivering and covered in sweat, it was because he was cold and the blanket was very warm, but not warm enough to annihilate the cold. Yes, that was the reason.

Oh, who was he kidding? He was afraid and he knew it. He was sure the others (with the exception of Sanan and Souji) were enduring similar plights; their strength was simply better than his. He'd been in bed like this for an hour now and although he was sleepy, every time he closed his eyes, the images from the film immediately filled his mind and caused him to open his eyes and become more unnerved by the darkness of his room. It was times like these that he missed having a nightlight when he was a child.

"Come on, Heisuke, be a man," he told himself."It's not real. Its just a movie. There are things in real life way scarier than that. So just forget about it and go to sleep."

He rolled onto his side, groaning after five additional minutes of unsuccessful attempts at slumber. He rolled onto his other side and got the same result. He rolled onto his back and glared at the ceiling. Finally, he pushed the blanket off and got out of bed, deciding to get something to drink to calm himself.

When he arrived in the kitchen, he stopped in his tracks."Chizuru?"

Chizuru, who was seated at the table with a cup of hot chocolate in her hands, looked up when she heard his voice. She smiled weakly."Oh, hello, Heisuke-kun. You cannot sleep either?"

Chuckling, Heisuke rubbed the back of his neck."How long have you been here?" He asked.

"Not long," she replied, taking a sip of her hot chocolate. She stood and asked,"Would you like some?"

"Oh, it's okay, I can do it myself!" Heisuke assured her, but she had already put her cup down and gotten up to make a drink for him. By the time Heisuke reached the table, she had completed her task, returned to the table, and was handing him the cup. Heisuke accepted it with a quiet utterance of gratitude and sat down across from her at the table.

After a moment of awkward silence, Heisuke cleared his throat and spoke."So, that movie Sanan-san picked has been keeping you up too?"

Chizuru nodded."I actually enjoyed, or at least, acknowledge that it is an effective horror film. It is simply not my favorite genre. Then again, I was not too fond of the action movie Nagakura-san picked either."

"But that didn't scare you," Heisuke said.

She nodded again whilst biting her lip. Silence settled over them once more as they allowed their thoughts to consume them. Eventually, Chizuru broke it.

"Heisuke-kun?" She was running her fingertips over her cup as she spoke."Since we both can't sleep, maybe we could…stay together for the night?" She leaned back with her jaw clenched and her eyes tightly shut, as if waiting for him to reject her.

Heisuke froze with the cup near his lips, his eyes the size of saucers and his cheeks pink. Lowering the cup, he looked at Chizuru and opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Unless "umm" and "uhh" could be considered actual responses.

"I didn't mean it like, well, um…" Chizuru tried to explain herself.

Heisuke couldn't explain why, but a sudden feeling of confidence filled him, and he reached out to take her hand, making her open her eyes and blush even harder. When she saw the small grin on his face, she smiled back at him.