Thunder rolled around in the outside world without mercy as rain pelted onto the roof of the apartment complex, hammering away. Wind was whistling, causing smaller trees to tilt and lean and the clothes line on the balcony to tangle. Damp air fogged over the town with the scent of freshness and moss, was seeping through the building structure where two young men sat across from each other, warmed by a kotatsu. Ever since Sojiro had come to like his friends Akira had been enjoying his new freedoms in Tokyo, and that included being allowed to stay over at his friend's place from time to time.
His usual smile never could come across as anything but sincere when around Ryuji, especially with his calm behavior. It was clear Akira didn't mind Ryuji's small home in the slightest, having being used to living in small spaces since moving into Sojiro's attic. Though cramp, the small apartment had a cozy feel to it with Ryuji's company and bright hospitality as he sat across from him, eating his own take out ramen bowl. The blonde's mouth was full yet still he insisted in scarfing down even more chunks of beef until he nearly choked.
Akira laughed, finding it all too much to have a warming effect on him.
"So I wented a few scarwy movies for us ta watch and uh-" hardly an entire sentence could be forced out without him almost choking and earning a laugh from his guest. "Hey, come on, man! What if I died. You wouldn't be laughin' at me then, would ya?" Ryuji slammed his empty dish on the table and grinned as he wiped broth from his face onto his arm. "Anyway, hurry up, dude. It ain't a old fashion sleep over if we just eat dinner! We gotta get to work!" As if Akira already knew what he was talking about Ryuji went over to the linen closet and started pulling out every sheet he could find. "We gotta build a fort first and watch scary movies all night! Ya know, normal stuff!"
"R-right…" he agreed, finding it clear that he wouldn't be given much of a say in the matter, not that Akira minded in the slightest. He had already rented several horror movies from the DVD shop in Shibuya so watching them with a friend sounded only like a small way to enrich the experience than with Morgana who'd normally cower in his lap or under his chair the whole time. "…but won't your mom be upset when she comes home later tonight and we take over the entire place?"
"Ahhh, don't worry about that, dude! With this storm outside she'll probably text me any minute ta say she's stayin' in a capsule hotel or somethin'. She works late; happens all the time." Ryuji's voice was surprisingly calm and optimistic despite the concerning confession. Was he normally home alone for most evenings? Akira chose not to think about the idea too much right away and just nodded his head. "Alright," he said confidently before devouring the rest of his soup. "Let's get started!"
"Grab your bowl!" Hardly giving Akira enough reaction time, Ryuji kicked up the kotatsu and unplugged it from the wall. "We're gonna have ta use this to build a wall. Trust me, I know what I'm doin'!" He tossed a heavy blanket at his friend and smiled as he collected the dishes and headed for the kitchen area. "Hang those on the curtain rod. Don't worry; it's a lot stronger than it looks!"
Sure enough…it was. Grinning warmly back, Akira did as he was instructed to and before long, Ryuji was really taking charge in their creative project. "I used ta do stuff like this all the time when I was a kid, especially during thunder storms like this one. It was kinda scary back then but not so much now that we're grown up, don'cha think? Hell, I even control thunder in the Metaverse, now!" Ryuji's spirit was drowning out the bleak outside world with ease as they worked, his voice brash and bombast as ever, but also uplifting and bright. "No way in Hell! Not even Odin could take me down, now. Ain't that right, leader?" he asked as he started patting down the two in the center. "Weren't you ever afraid of storms as a kid?"
Akira only shook his head. "Not really. I thought they were sort of cool, actually," he said as he crawled in to his space and sat, crossed legged. He chuckled slightly and readjusted his glasses as he watched Ryuji jump to the sudden thunder erupting outside again. "It seems you're still a tad afraid," he teased as he patted the space net time, urging Ryuji to sit beside him. "How about I get some popcorn cooking and you get the movie started. What'd you rent, anyway?"
"Eh, just some foreign Australian film I saw tending in Topic and CHAT boards. I found a cheap bootleg copy with Japanese subtitles. 'Suppose ta be about some monster in a top hat, I guess?" Ryuji crawled over to the shelf and pulled off the whatever film he was talking about. They had been smart to make an opening large enough so the TV was within sight of their sleeping area. "Here," he said as he took the disc out and handed the case to Akira who was making his way into the kitchen space to get popcorn cooking. The cover displayed a black silhouette over a red background. BABADOOK was written below, centered.
"I think I've heard of this, actually," Akria commented as he tossed the popcorn bag into the microwave and pressed a few buttons. A venting hum sounded from the machine as it fired up. "Isn't this an LGBT film?" he teased again with a laugh from where he was now standing in the doorway, looking down at Ryuji who laying on his side in his PJs and a tank top, laughing back at him. "Don't tell me you're coming on to me like this."
"Nah, man! That was just part of the joke. It's a horror movie, I swear! Come on, it'll be fun!"
Ryuji aimed the remote at the TV and pressed play.
….
Akira only kept smirking over at his friend who had hand clenched tightly around his upper arm now, eyes focused on the screen as the film continued to pan out. "Th-that dogs' not really d-dead, r-right? Sh-she couldn't have killed it!" He could hear his friend's fear in his voice and feel the blonde's excitement, shaking while he remained calm and unaffected by anything they were watching. It was overly cheesy from what he was used to renting himself from the video store, actually.
"Ba ba…DOOK," he burst out in a loud, nazley growl, timing himself just right after a flash of lightning to sync with the booing thunder that came right after. Akira watched, chuckling as Ryuji flinched, jumping (or more so hopping) away from him, trembling and even sweating a little.
"Th-that's not funny, Akira! Wh-what if that was real! What if-"
BOOM!
With a flash and then an explosion, everything shook, and when it settled the entire room was shrouded in darkness. All felt quiet…save for Ryuji's sputtered screams as he dived out of the blanket fort, almost knocking over an entire wall, as well as the TV, in his panicking state. The blonde tripped over his own legs and landed face first into the floor, twitching as he tried to recollect himself. "What happened! I-is it coming? Is the Babadook here?!" he cried out, having bought in to the movies tale. "Crap, we didn't even see the ending! How do we get rid of it?!"
"Calm down, Ryuji; it's just a power outage," Akira answered as he pulled off his glasses to set them at a safe distance. He was now already laying on his back, still inside the blanket fort and waiting for his eyes to adjust to the lack of any light. "It might just be best for us to call it a night? It's already really late." The phantom leader glanced at his phone, noting the time. It was past midnight. Having the device in his hand triggered a simple idea in him to help ease the situation. With just a swipe and a tap he activated the flashlight function and aimed it out at Ryuji. "Wanna wait it out? Maybe tell scary stories?"
Ryuji held a hand up to block out the bright shine from his friend's phone and grumbled. "A-actually…I really gotta pee," he confessed as he glanced over at the towards the apartment entrance. The bathroom was just around the corner.
"So? Go pee. I'll still be here."
"D-dude are you crazy? I need ya ta come with me! W-what if the Babadook is there? I can't face him by myself!"
Akira raised an eyebrow. "You can't be serious…."
"Come on, dude; I mean it! I-I really gotta go, but I'm scared!" Ryuji begged the other, putting his hands together in a plead. His eyes kept darting from Akira to the doorway leading to the kitchen with one hand holding himself together down below, bouncing on the balls of his feet. His teeth grit together, anxious to get moving and finally pee before getting to bed. "J-just come with me to the bathroom. It's right around the corner past the kitchen, okay? At least just watch from the doorway!"
Akira continued to raise a single eyebrow at his friend from where he was already laying down in their blanket fort, more or less ready to go to bed. Still, he sighed, knowing there was only one option to make this end quickly. "Alright, fine. I'll watch from the kitchen table," he agreed as he got up and crawled out of their fort. "Let's make this quick, okay?" His voice was stern, but also calm as he aimed his phone's light in front of them both, Ryuji huddled close behind him, hunched over and holding himself in fear he might leak before reaching the safety of the toilet.
"See? Nothing is here. Get going!" he said with the light pointed at the bathroom door.
Immediately, Ryuji sped past him with his own phone in hand, flashlight on, and closed the door behind him. He panting was heavy as he sat down and dropped his PJ bottoms to the floor, having a tad difficult time having only one hand to do anything. It was a relief when he could finally sit down on the toilet seat and begin to expel himself of any built up pressure, sighing to himself. "Much better," he mused to himself under his breath. "Damn, the power still ain't comin' back on, either. What's next?"
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
Instantly, Ryuji let out a whimper as he pulled his pants up, almost jumping off the toilet. "Th-THAT'S NOT FUNNY, AKIRA!" he yelled, earning a response of a sharp snicker followed by a muffled "Yes it was," right before he flushed the toilet.
As he stepped out into the entryway to rejoin Akira, the sound of rain only grew louder and heavier on the roof above them. It was clear the storm wouldn't be halting tonight at all. "That's enough. C-come on, dude. Let's just go to bed…" Ryuji sighed as, hunched forward as he walked on back into the living room. His tone of voice was low for once, tired and drained, clearly wanting to call it a night, finally. He huffed as he looked down at their fort, finding his half all too welcoming for him to catch some much-needed rest until suddenly the loud KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK sounded once again, firing up his irritation and adrenaline. He spun on his heels and directed his flashlight straight into his friend's face. "DUDE! Ya effin' serious? I told ya ta stop, already!"
Yet, Akira's smug grin wasn't present. He wasn't readjusting his fake glasses or toying with his hair or sending a snarky come back like he would otherwise. His gaze was averting Ryuji, or more so focused at another part of the complex. "That…wasn't me…." He was staring over at the front door….
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
They both jumped as they aimed their phones at the door, too scared to speak right away.
"H-hey, isn't didn't your mom say she was stayin' at a capsule hotel?" Akira finally asked, keeping his eye on the doorway.
Ryuji nodded as his teeth chattered. "Y-yeah, she did! TH-then who's at the d-"
BANG! Another loud clash of thunder rang around them, causing Ryuji to scream and cling to Akira's side. "IT'S THE BABADOOK!" he shouted as he dug his nails through the fabric of his friend's tank top. "WE'RE GONNA EFFIN' DIE, MAN!" Ryuji was huffing between shouts, panicking as Akira tried to shake him off, almost dropping his phone in the process.
"Calm down, Ryuji!" he ordered as he took his friend by the shoulders and straightened up. The knocking continued but no voice came from the other side. All that could be heard the storm around them and the blonde's fearful cries. "This can't be real. The Babadook is just a scary movie. Let's just answer the door and see who it is, okay?" There was doubt in his voice, and even Ryuji could hear it by the gulp coming from Akira's throat.
Only Ryuji didn't answer. Instead he held up a trembling hand, pointing back to the entrance.
Akira's eyes followed along Ryuji's arm to his finger until his eyes feel back on the front door which was now opening slowly on its own only a crack…and then slowly closing. Fear was clear in both of their airs, and in the air all around them. The Babadook was indeed very real, and in Ryuji's apartment with them, now. They both looked at each other, shaking and sweating, too shaken to even speak immediately until Ryuji's screaming broke the silence yet again. "This is it, man! We're gonna die and I didn't even get ta score with a girl yet!"
"Ryuji, get ahold of yourself! We aren't going out like this. We're better that this!"
The two remained standing for only a moment longer until Ryuji's eyes darted back to the living space, looking at the only safe space that was left: the precious blank fort they had constructed to shield themselves from the harsh reality. It's soft, yet thick sheet walls as well as the futon padding floor surely would be strong enough to hold off the ghoul until they could think of an escape route. Hell, it even had extra blankets ready to conceal themselves, which they'd surely need! It wasn't until now that Ryuji realized that God himself had given him his prestigious fort craftsmanship to protect them both from the horrors of reality! "The fort," he whispered before immediately diving into their sanctuary.
Akira followed without hesitation.
The darkness served as a cover for them momentarily until Ryuji quickly sealed off the only entry point to the fort with an extra sheet. Surely that would hold off the demon spirit for at least a few minutes, but now they had trapped themselves. "Shit, man, the hell we gonna do now? How do we beat this thing? We can't use our personas in the real world, can we?" His eyes had barely adjusted enough to see Akira shaking his head at him before he turned on his flashlight again. "SO WE'RE GONNA DIE?"
"NO!" Akira barked as he started messing around on his device. "Just sit tight. I have an idea…" He was focused and determined as he started tapping his screen and swiping, searching the web, desperate to bring this chaos to an end even if it meant using a disrupted slow data connection. As the seconds ticked by, lightning would flash from the window and light up the room momentarily enough for a shadow to be visible along the semi-transparent bed sheets around them. "I think I found something, but it's in English!"
"Well hurry up and translate it, dude! Your English is better than mine, that's for sure!"
He nodded before starting the video, listening slowly and carefully as the voice over began reciting and flipping through the story book they had seen in the movie. It wasn't until new material from prior was being shown that Akira became more confused, having to replay every last few seconds until he could understand everything being said. "I…I think I got it," he finally said after so long. There was a glimmer of hope in their despair filled situation after all! "It seems we just have to…give him a place to stay for the night and then he'll leave us alone!"
Ryuji was silent for a moment, staring at the other from the light of the touch screen. "…huh? You…can't be serious…." He glanced around as if scanning the apartment through the confines of their soft, cotton isolation. "Where can we even put him? There's only three rooms in this apartment and I know he ain't gonna want ta be in the bathroom or the kitchen…." Silence came over them once more, both of them storming their own minds for a solution, until finally the only possible idea came to them. It was Akira who spoke up.
"We could…give him the blanket fort…and we just sleep under the kitchen table…" he suggested, looking into Ryuji's eyes for agreement.
"What?"
"If you drop the entry sheet then I can pull out of the of the futons and we could share it under the kitchen table. Then he can have the other and the fort for the night. It's the only option we have, isn't it?"
"Dude, no. Hell no. That's never gonna work. Ain't no way some demon is gonna wanna sleep in this tiny-ass blan-" BOOM! The storm sounded once more, showcasing a larger shadow, now surrounding them completely with a loud echoing growl following. The demon was growing, and becoming more impatient by the minute. "OKAY, NEVER MIND! L-let's try it!" Ryuji squeaked as he shut off his flashlight. "J-just grab the corners and be ready to dash for it, okay?" With teeth chattering, Ryuji reached around and took hold of the sheet that separated them from the dark monster, ready to devour them both. He glanced back one last time to the barely distinguishable silhouette of Akira and gulped. "If we die…I'm gonna effin' kill ya in Hell," he spat out.
With that, he pulled aside the sheet and crawled out at top speed, not wasting a moment the take shelter under the table. "COME ON!" he barked after Akria, who quickly joined him. "M-Mr. Babadook?" he called out with his eyes shut tight. "I-it's not much, but you're w-welcome to stay in our blanket fort tonight, b-but ya gotta leave tomorrow morning!" White glossed over his vision with one final clash from the outside and then…nothing. Everything fell silent. Eyes opened to readjust and find Akira right beside him, laying down the futon and their few remaining blankets and pillows all while darting his eyes around, trying to spot anything else around them. "I-is it gone?"
"I don't know…but there's nothing else we can do, is there?" he exclaimed as he pulled the chairs in to surround them and lay down on his side. "Well…I guess let's get some sleep…." Akria was surprisingly relaxed suddenly despite their situation, being haunted by a refereed gay icon. With his hand in front of him, he patted the small other half of the one futon they had. "Come to think of it…if something happens…I guess we can just jump into the Metaverse and make our way to the café," he finally realized.
"B-but that's not what I'm worried about! Did you watch the movie?!" Ryuji scooted closer to the other, shock and concern in his voice but with less fright. "It doesn't kill you, itself! It takes over your mind and makes you go crazy until you kill yourself and everyone around you! D-doesn't that scare you?"
"No. I trust you, Ryuji-kun."
"That's not the point!" he snapped. "A-Akira…I don't want to kill you. I wouldn't know what ta do if I just offed ya and lost ya like that. Hell, I wouldn't even need a demon ta convince me afterwards. I'd probably just…kill myself knowin' I had done that to ya…." Ryuji throat hurt, starting to choke on his words momentarily. His blood was pumping, adrenaline on high alert and now he was responding to it with heightened emotion. "You're always so calm and you always seem ta know what to do even in situations that don't make any sense. Meanwhile I'm just here ta effin' smash everythin' ta pieces!" he voice trailed off for a moment as he balled up his fists, gaze averted down to the floor. "You're always lookin' out for us and meanwhile I ain't that much help even against some ghost. I just…wanna be able look out for you, too…."
Hardly a moment passed before Akira grabbed Ryuji and forced him to lay down, quickly taking command of the situation once again. He paused to give the other a moment to gather himself and readjust, but didn't remove his grip. "It's okay," he finally said. "Ryuji…you aren't giving yourself as much credit as you deserve." Akira's touch was soft, but firm just like his voice. "You've…been my best friend since the day I arrived here a few months ago, and I can't thank you enough for it or for how many times you've saved us in a heated battle in a palace." He paused to try and muster up a more awake and heartfelt response, having not been expected to be put on the spot like this. His hand trailed down along Ryuji's arm until he brought the other in for a quick embrace, hugging him as best he could with only one arm. "Just…promise you'll keep protecting us…and I'll be sure to do the same for you, too…..I need you."
"…." Ryuji was silent for once, and as it extended until only rain could be heard it felt wrong and heavy. "I promise," he finally said, unable to stand it anymore. He shifted until his back was facing Akira and pulled the sheets over them both. Hot breath brushed against the back of his neck, having a soothing effect for him, even more so now that it seemed the thunder was moving further away from their part of the city. "Do you…really need me?" he finally asked, whispering through the dark.
"Yes," Akira answered softly. "More than you know…."
Those words stemmed into the blonde's ear, reassuring him until it seemed Ryuji had calmed down. Still, Akira didn't let go of him right away. His arm remained around his body, holding him close. A warmth seeped through into the his body from Akira as he closed his eyes and found himself matching his breathing to the other's. There was a sense of safety like this with their leader, feeling as though now there was no one else, not even the Babadook watching them until Ryuji could say he felt like he could loosen up more. With a groan, he spun back around until he was facing his friend. "I'm gonna trust ya too, Akira-kun," he whispered as he embraced his leader. "Just…don't forget you always got a place next ta me…no matter what…."
Sleep finally took them both.
In the following morning, Ryuji woke up to Akira's arms coiled around him, and them both piled around each other under the kitchen table. The room had an odd scent about it of sweat and semi burned popcorn. A glance past the legs of the table chairs showed a blanket fort and several corn kernals scattered over the carpet, as well as a very familiar cat curled up in the confines of their hard work from last night. "…what is he doing here?" Ryuji grumbled.
Then it all started to come back to him; the movie, the power outage, cowering together…and then finally their little talk that had happened impulsively on his own part. Ryuji looked back over at Akira, who was still asleep and holding onto him, and sighed. A shy grin slowly appeared on his face. Despite how annoyed he felt there was also a great amount of joy and relief in him, too. His hair is so messy in the morning, he said to himself as gently ran a finger through Akira's black locks. Another huffed came from him as he turned back onto his side and hugged Akira's sleeping body once more, this time with both arms, fingers finding their way up into his messy hair again, and closed his eyes. "Five more minutes…" he whispered.