The eerie creaking of the floorboards echoed into the night as Rei continued on with a mere flashlight as her aid. She moved forward and reached into the drawer to pull out another clue regarding the mystery of the Manor. As she continued on to her investigation, she turned a corner, only to find---
"AAAAAAAAHHHH!" Hotaru screamed as she reflexively pressed on the pause button, thereby freezing the image of the menacing ghost onscreen, and let go of the game controller. "I CAN'T DO THIS!"
The person next to her, the good ol' bomber, Gokudera Hayato, took a breather and picked up the forgotten controller. "Oi, you said you wanted to play!" His tone came off as annoyed, but there was a shimmer of mirth and amusement in his eyes.
It was raining outside, and quite heavily too. Hotaru had invited everyone to hang out at her place after school, and although everyone went, it was Hayato who stayed the latest. Not that she wanted him to leave anytime soon, anyway.
"Just because I said I wanted to play, doesn't mean I am actually capable of playing it!" she wailed with a sour look on her face. Naturally, Hayato would make fun of her and her sissy tendencies when it came to playing video games like these. "And c'mon, look at that face! Don't YOU find that freaky?"
He glanced at the screen and shrugged. Although he wouldn't admit it, the spooky ghost did creep him out a bit, but it's not as if he was about to go and tell her that. "Are we playing or not?"
Hotaru pouted, mumbled a couple of words to herself, and grabbed the controller from his hands. "Okay ghostie, give it to me!" With that, she resumed the game with conviction and determination.
Too bad it was right then did the electricity shut down.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" she shrieked into Hayato's shoulder, clutching him for dear life. "The ghost! It did this! IT'S DOING THIS ON PURPOSE!"
Hayato twitched. "The storm must of affected the electricity," he said. "Hey, you got any candles? It's kinda hard to see in all this darkness."
"Yes I do," she said into his shoulder. "But it's so far away AND IT'S SCARY!"
Prying Hotaru away from him, he sighed and took out his lighter. Flicking at it, he said, "Here, I'll come with you, just lead the way." He stood up and offered her a hand. "Well?"
She looked at his hand, then at him. "O-okay, it's over there…"
*
After Hotaru were satisfied with how well-lit the place was (it took a LOT of candles, for the record), she and Hayato settled themselves on the couch, sharing a blanket.
"This was the biggest one I could find," said Hotaru, referring to the blanket. "Sorry if we have to stay so close to each other just so the blanket could accommodate the both of us."
"Tch, it'll have to do," he replied, avoiding her eyes while warmth crept to his cheeks. "How long will this damned blackout last anyway?"
"Dunno, the storm seems pretty bad." She looked out the window, and yes, it was pretty much raining cats and dogs. "I hope the electricity comes back pretty soon though. I don't like all this darkness much." Oh, but she were definitely enjoying how comfortable it was being so close to Hayato.
He looked at Hotaru with a strange expression. "There are 32 candles lit in here, woman! How in the world can you call this dark?!"
She blinked. "Well, I still want the lights back on. I don't feel very reassured with just candles."
Suddenly she was brought into Hayato's chest, a protective arm over her shoulder. "If it makes you feel any better," his grip on her tightened, "I'll be here to protect you. Ghost or whatever."
To that, Hotaru blushed and hid her face in his chest. Hugging him, she said, "Thanks Hayato~"
The heat in his cheeks strengthened. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever."
"I'm getting kinda sleepy," she yawned, burying herself closer to his embrace. "Wake me up when the lights are back on."
His response was a nod and a yawn escaping his lips. He brought out his phone and checked the time. 'No wonder we're both sleepy. It's already 11pm.' he thought to himself, dozing off as well.
But then, only a minute later, the electricity returned. "Oi, oi Hotaru, wake up," he shook her lightly, wondering why it took her so fast to fall asleep.
"Wh-what wha---?" she rubbed your eyes, only to be met with the blinding light. "AAAAAAHHH MY EYEEEEES!" She went back and cowered into his chest. "TURN IT OOOOOFF!"
Hayato twitched once more. "I thought you wanted the lights back on?"
"Oh yeah you're right! WELCOME BACK LIGHTS!"
He shook his head, reminding himself that he should already be used to the girl's randomness. But he can't help it; she's such a bubby bundle of surprises. And maybe that's why, no matter how annoying she might be, he still liked being with her.
Hell, he liked being with her a lot.
"Hey Hayato, let's blow out all the candles!" she grabbed Hayato's hand, pulling him out of the couch and dragging him to the nearest candle. "Here, you take that one, and I'll take another. First one to blow out the last candle is a that awful ghost from the video game!"
He emitted a small chuckle at Hotaru's goofiness but blew out the candle nonetheless. "Hey, how will we know which one's the last candle?"
"We'll know 'cause I'm already done with this side and the last one is RIGHT NEXT TO YOU NOOOOO---!"
Too late. He had already blown out the candle with a sly look. "So, who's the ghost again?"
Hotaru glared at him. "Unfair! It was right next to you! I demand a rematch."
"Rematch? No thanks, I'd rather save my lungs for better things."
"Like what?" she huffed, crossing her arms with a pout.
"Things like this," he cupped her cheek, bringing their faces closer to each other and sealing the distance with a passionate kiss.
His kiss left Hotaru breathless and dazed, not to mention set her cheeks on fire. "You just did that to distract me." she muttered, heading to the couch in front of the television.
"But you liked it." he smirked devilishly.
"Shut up," she pouted as Hayato settled next to her. "Anyway, let's continue with the game and---AAAAAAAAHHHH!"
"What?! WHAT?!" he exclaimed with slight panic. "What's wrong?!"
"THE BLACKOUT KILLED OUR GAME FILE! WE HAVE TO REPEAT THE ENTIRE THING!"
(A/N: Lol, spot the Fatal Frame 3 insert.)