Cicadas rattled in the brush, a constant creaking in the low, summer heat. Only the faint light from a distant streetlamp let them see at all, but the day's sticky humidity pressed down against them. Even at three in the morning, the mugginess hadn't eased. Which, of course, had prompted Nagisa to propose a test of courage.
"If we start shivering in fright, we're bound to cool off," he'd said. And with those sweet eyes, Makoto hadn't been able to say no.
"Hey, Mako-chan, have you heard? This shrine had a shrine back in the Heian period who died on a moonless night in the heart of summer."
"You're making that up," Makoto said, but his hands trembled. He tucked them behind his head to mask the shaking. "Who kills a shrine maiden, anyway?"
Nagisa swung his arms out as if to embrace the star-studded sky. "They said it was the ghost of her dead lover trying to reunite them."
"Shrine maidens don't have lovers!" A twig snap in the brush, and Makoto jumped into Nagisa.
"Then maybe she wasn't a very good shrine maiden," Nagisa replied. He shrugged and hooked his arm around Makoto's. "Scared?"
"It was just a fox." He didn't release Nagisa's arm, and he hunched over him as they approached the part of the shrine said to house the god of the ocean.
"They say that foxes—"
"Nope." Makoto covered Nagisa's mouth and pretended his hand wasn't shaking harder than a leaf in an autumn gale. "Normal fox. A not-gonna-kill-us fox."
Nagisa met Makoto's eyes as a lonely car wound around the shrine, sending streaks of light at odd angles across the open space. When he nodded a confirmation, Makoto lowered his hand.
"We just have to leave the offering, and the test is over." Nagisa's voice was surprisingly soothing. "And we purified ourselves just past the torii, anyway. We'll be fine."
"Fine," Makoto repeated. An owl hooted in a nearby tree, its eyes wide and empty like those of a dead child. He felt faint. If Nagisa's arm hadn't been hooked around his, he might have fallen; as it was, he leaned heavily against him for support. "Right. Fine."
"I've got you." Nagisa grinned. "Don't worry. If any jealous lovers come to get you, I'll bat my eyelashes at them and lead them away."
Despite himself, laughter caught in Makoto's throat. Then the wind picked up and rattled the old shingles. Yelping, he cowered behind Nagisa, arms hooked tight around his chest.
Though Makoto expected Nagisa to laugh, he instead rubbed circles on the back of Makoto's wrist.
"Just five more meters." They crept forward. "Four… Three… Two… One… There!" Nagisa clapped to announce their offering to the god, startling Makoto so badly that his knees gave out, sending them both to the ground.
"Oh no!" Nagisa gasped, grabbing Makoto's face.
"What? What is it?"
"I think I saw a spirit sneak into your mouth!"
"A—they don't—what?"
"It was this pale wisp of smoke. It smelled just like burnt incense. Or maybe corpses."
"You didn't!"
"I did. But never fear! I'll save you, Mako-chan!"
Without any further warning, Nagisa swooped in and—kissed him. Terror gave way to confusion, then relief.
"You didn't tell me that you were the jealous lover," Makoto said, raising an eyebrow.
"Chalk it up to possession," Nagisa said brightly. "Test's over. Let's hit the hay!"
Nagisa hauled Makoto to his feet and took off for the entrance of the shrine—but neither of them made any move to stop holding hands.