Summary: Scaredy-cat 13-year old Makoto Tachibana is bullied into doing a dare one Halloween night.
WARNING: AU / Alternate Universe ; slight use of OC (Original Character)
A twig snaps in half, breaking the eerie silence of the abandoned house.
Makoto nearly pisses in his pants at the sound, his grip on the borrowed flashlight faltering. He only manages to keep his hold on the silver-handled contraption due to the fact that his fingers had been frozen stiff from fear. For the nth time that night, the brunette finds himself reconsidering going through with the dare. But if he backed out, the others would surely find out. And he'd really rather not deal with all the teasing, especially now that he was going to be a big brother soon.
He had to be a brave older brother for his soon-to-be siblings!
"- -!"
Another twig snapping in half makes Makoto squeal like frightened little girl. He immediately clears his throat afterwards, trying to regain some semblance of 'manliness' a slightly scrawny, sandy-haired child of 13 should possess. When the light from his torch hits a reflective surface, an ice-cold sliver of fear runs down his spine.
He had arrived.
The bathroom was in as horrible shape as the abandoned house. Moss and other forms of plant life had crawled in from a crack in the wall, eating up what was once a neatly-tiled room. An old, chipped bathtub sat neglected in the far side of the eerie bathroom. Beside it is an equally chipped porcelain sink. Makoto's flashlight had beamed on the broken and rusty-edged mirror hanging lopsidedly above the sink.
Definitely nervous by now, the brunette steps closer to the ruined reflective surface. He cringes slightly at his own cracked reflection, trying to reassure himself that there was no such thing as getting 13 years of bad luck from looking at a broken mirror.
Makoto stills, trying to quiet down his rather heavy, nervous breathing as he takes a moment to gather up his courage.
He had to do this. He must show them that he was brave enough. He couldn't stand being made fun of anymore. And what would his soon-to-be-siblings think of such a scaredy-cat older brother? He had to show everyone that he was brave in order to protect them from future bullies.
After a deep lungful of air, Makoto begins the chant.
"Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary. . ."
As soon as he begins chanting, the brunette starts spinning clockwise, his green eyes catching his own frightened expression on the mirror at every turn. Makoto finds himself inwardly blaming Takeshi for ever suggesting such a ridiculous thing. Just because he read it off some foreign book doesn't mean that it was something worth doing. Actually, Makoto wasn't even sure if he was saying it properly. Maybe the ghost won't appear after all and Makoto could come home, unscathed but with the feeling of having accomplished such a ridiculous dare - -
A flash of blue in the cracked mirror causes Makoto's heart to jump.
"...What are you doing?"
The calm, almost monotone voice spoken so near his ear made the brunette yell loudly, his hand dropping the flashlight which makes a rather distinct 'thunk' noise as it hits the ground, blinking a couple of times before shuttering off and leaving the brunette in total darkness.
Makoto drops down into a fetal position, tears streaming down his face as he all but begs the vengeful spirit to forgive him for his intrusion.
"I'm sorry! I didn't really mean to disturb you! Please don't eat my innards and leave my body for the crows!"
"... That sounds disgusting."
The 'entity' bends down to pick up the flashlight, shaking it a bit before trying the switch. To Makoto's great relief (or perhaps intense fear - he still could not tell at this point), a familiar light begins streaming from the little metal contraption, illuminating the features of the 'ghost'.
"Here."
Makoto stared dumbly up at the boy - It was a boy, not a ghost. Looked to be around the same age as Makoto too, if not slightly thinner and a shade paler than the tan brunette. Makoto takes his flashlight back, his heartbeat slowly but surely returning to its normal pace.
The other boy's ocean-blue eyes seemed to be staring holes right into Makoto's skull and the brunette could not help but feel slightly uncomfortable. Still, he decides to break the awkward silence.
"T-Thanks. Uhm... W-What are you doing here?"
"I should ask you the same thing."
Makoto winces slightly at the straightforward reply, the boy's words as piercing as his stare.
"I was... uhm... You see, I was just trying to... er... Y-you see, there was this thing that my classmates made me do..."
"You shouldn't have agreed to something you didn't want to do in the first place."
His words hit Makoto like a sharp slap to the face and he could not hold back the faint sniffling, threatening to turn into full-blown sobs. The other boy, sensing his distress, takes a step closer, ocean-blue eyes softening slightly.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry..."
"I-I'm not c-crying- - !"
But as soon as the words leave his lips, sobs begin wracking Makoto's frame, tears slipping down his cheeks. His cry echoes in the dark, slightly damp abandoned bathroom and the other boy could not help but feel even worse. Only the sudden creak of the rotting hardwood floor startles Makoto from his sobbing fit, long enough for the other boy to take his hand and quietly pull him outside where it was safe.
Huddled under a nearby tree, Makoto's sobs eventually peter down to faint hiccups, the other boy's hand only leaving its comforting perch on his shoulder when the brunette finally stops crying.
"...I'm sorry about that." the stranger murmurs, blue eyes sneaking a glance at his companion.
Makoto shakes his head, hands wiping away the final traces of his tears. He takes a deep, calming breath before flashing a smile at the other boy.
"No... You were right about everything. And even if there is no ghost inside, it's still pretty dangerous. I shouldn't have walked in."
A flash of interest lights up the other boy's eyes.
" ... You wanted to see ghosts?"
Makoto paled at that. "N-no! Of course not! It was just a dare... A really stupid one."
"..Oh. I see."
A strangely comfortable silence settles between the two boys until Makoto realizes he has yet to know the other one's name.
"... Haruka." the pale boy murmurs, ocean-blue eyes practically glowing in the darkness surrounding them. Makoto feels a shiver run down his spine at the sight but it could just have been an aftershock from his recent excursion.
The brunette straightens up, quietly thankful that his knees did not give way beneath him.
"Thank you for helping me out, Haruka-san."
He receives a quiet nod in return as the raven-haired boy stands up as well.
"...I'll ...see you around, then." the brunette waves awkwardly before going to the dirt path leading to the well-lit main road. He just really wanted to go home as quickly as possible and only when his feet hit the pavement does he remember his newly-made friend. But as soon as he turns around, there was no trace of the ocean-eyed boy. The abandoned house stood as quiet and foreboding as before.
Trying to push back unhelpful thoughts of lonely boy ghosts, Makoto breaks into a run, not once looking back until he makes it to the bus stop where his classmates were waiting for him.
Still breathing rather heavily, Makoto barely registered his classmates crowding around him, their faces a mixture of worry and curiosity.
"Did you do it, Makoto?"
"What did you see?"
"Did the ghost try to claw your eyes out?"
"... Where did my flashlight go?"
That last question - and from Takeshi himself, no less - made Makoto frantically search his pockets only to have his hands come up empty.
"You have to go back and get it, Makoto. My mom would be upset if I lose that thing. And it's your fault, losing it in the first place, right? Go get it!"
Takeshi had always been a bully. No one dared to question his orders due to the fact that he was a good three inches taller than most of the class, his beefy arms promising a good walloping to anyone who disobeyed. Only Makoto stood on equal height with him but the brunette had always been a softie, preferring to go along with the bully's orders rather than standing up for himself and for the others.
Well, that was before.
"No."
Makoto's classmates stare at the brunette as a sudden silence falls upon them. They have never heard Makoto sounding so brave. And the way he held himself – back straight, moss-green eyes defiantly staring at Takeshi's own confused pair – was a sight they have never seen before.
"What do you mean 'no'?" the bully asks as he takes a menacing step forward.
"I meant what I said. I am not going to go back there."
Makoto takes his own step forward before continuing.
"If you're as brave as you say you are, you should take it back, Takeshi."
Haruka's words echo in Makoto's head.
He didn't have to do something he doesn't want to.
Takeshi, obviously stunned by Makoto's sudden bravery, takes a step back. His words of retort are nothing but a garbled mess and he leaves abruptly with an empty threat about making Makoto pay for his lost flashlight.
As the brunette releases a breath he was not aware he had been holding, his classmates erupt into cheers around him. They pat him on the back, congratulating him on finally being able to stand up to Takeshi. Makoto could only blush faintly at the attention, his hand awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. As they all part ways for the night, the brunette keeps the reason for his new-found bravery a secret.
He would thank Haruka soon enough.
Early morning dew glistened on the petals of the fresh flowers Makoto had gathered from a nearby field. They were carefully nestled beside three pieces of handmade rice balls the brunette himself cooked up this morning (with a little help from his mother, of course).
In the clear daylight, the abandoned house looked less frightening. To some extent, it was oddly beautiful with the leafy vines crawling up the cream-white walls, wild plants having sprouted some flowers here and there. After last night's incident, Makoto certainly thought it looked less scary now.
The brunette sets down his small basket before fixing up a little makeshift shrine on the porch of the old house. After saying a quiet prayer, he smiles at the simple offerings.
"...Thank you for helping me last night, Haruka-san."
A faint gust of wind blows past Makoto's shoulders, as if reassuring him that the offerings have been accepted. He was about to turn away and head back to the main road when a faint clicking sound from within the house calls his attention.
"You left this in here." murmurs the pale, raven-haired and ocean-eyed boy as he steps out to the front porch of the abandoned house, silver flashlight in hand.
Makoto's moss-green eyes widen before a loud scream erupts from his mouth.
A/N: Hello~ This is my first fanfiction for 'Free!: Iwatobi Swim Club' so I'm pretty nervous about it. I also haven't written in such a long time so I'm pretty rusty ^^; Tbh, this is just supposed to be a one-shot thing but after that ending, I'm not too sure anymore. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading~
p.s. This story is also available in AO3 under the pen name tick_tocked