Prompt: Makoto and Haru doing a Test of Courage challenge during elementary school. Most common ones I know of involve going into a cave - Rating: G


Tears were burning in his forest green eyes, that were squeezed shut so he wouldn't have to look around himself. His knuckles had turned white because of how tightly he gripped the back of Haru's shirt, letting his friend guide him through the mostly dark cave.

This was not what Makoto had expected to happen on the overnight field trip the school had arranged for the third and fourth graders. He had been so excited that he almost couldn't sleep the night before, but if he would have known that this would happen, he would have gladly stayed at home.

The school had taken its students to the mountains in relation to the geography classes. During the day they had gotten a tour of one of the mountains, after which they were going to spend the night at the small inn at the bottom of the mountain that provided the tour. The tour itself had been a lot of fun, although it was a little exhausting to climb to the top of the mountain, Haru had been with him, and that made everything even better.

After dinner one of the teachers that had accompanied them on the field trip announced that a test of courage had been organised in one of the caves at the bottom of the mountain that was rumoured to be full of ghosts and spirits. Most of the children had been elated and had cheered, others were a little less enthusiastic, but Makoto felt his heart sink. Haru had been apathetic about the whole thing, but when he saw how pale his best friend was at the mention of the planned activity, his indifference turned into worry.

The teacher had said that anyone who was too afraid to accept the challenge was allowed to stay at the inn with one of the teachers, but none of the children raised their hand and though Makoto very much would have preferred to stay behind like the teacher had suggested, he didn't want to be the only one to chicken out. Besides that, he was sure that Haru would stay with him, and he didn't want to take away Haru's opportunity to prove himself as brave just because he was too much of a scardy-cat.

Against better knowledge, Makoto had kept his mouth shut and had gone along to the opening of the cave where they were divided into smaller groups of six. Luckily Haru was in his group so that made him feel a little more courageous, otherwise he wasn't sure if he would be able to make it out of the cave alive. Not that he was more excited now, he was still as unwilling as before, but everything was better when Haru was there.

Every group was handed two flashlights and they were the fourth group to enter the cave. Makoto watched the first three groups going inside minutes after each other, and his dread grew with every second that had passed. When it was time for their group to head inside, the two loudest and most liveliest of their group had gotten the flashlights and entered the cave before anyone else, with Haru and Makoto trailing behind a bit more reluctantly.

Almost immediately Makoto had taken a hold of the back of Haru's shirt, the contact making him feel a bit more secure.

That security didn't linger very long. Every echoing voice and every thud of footsteps made Makoto flinch, and then he started to hear things that he couldn't place, things that could mean only one thing. Ghosts.

His hold on the back of Haru's shirt tightened and for a second he was nailed to the floor, but the pull from Haru's continued steps made him go on as well. At some point he had closed his eyes, too afraid to look in front of him through the dimly lit cave, trusting Haru to guide the way.

If he had been anywhere else, he might have realised and acknowledged that his fears were irrational and that every sound that he heard was just the echoes of other children or teachers purposefully trying to scare them, but at that moment he sincerely believed that if he dared to open his eyes, he would see nothing but the white appearances of phantoms surrounding them, ready to strike and to take him with them to the underworld.

This thought only made him more scared and though he tried to tell himself to be brave for once, to prove to Haru that he wasn't a coward, he couldn't stop himself from trembling. The more he told himself to be valiant, the harder the quivering became. He was eight already, ghosts shouldn't scare him anymore. Haru wasn't scared of anything and he was only a few months older than Makoto. So he needed to do this, if not for himself, then for Haru. To prove that he wasn't a baby and that he was worthy of being Haru's best friend. He could do this. For Haru.

It didn't take much for his newfound resolve to crumble. When one of the boys in their group suddenly yelped, "Hey! Did you guys hear that?" Makoto was back to square one.

He was shaking so hard that Haru must be able to feel it through the jerks on his shirt. In order to prevent himself from crying, he bit his lip, which was also twitching with the onset of tears.

Just as he was about to give up trying and burst into tears, he felt a hand prying his off of Haru's shirt.

That was it. He had disappointed Haru. Haru knew just how much of a coward he really was and didn't want him to hold onto him any longer.

But instead of releasing his hand like Makoto had expected him to, Haru squeezed it.

This took Makoto by surprise and he opened his eyes in bewilderment, and he could see Haru's face, illuminated by the flashlights.

"Haru?" Makoto mumbled, his voice thick with unshed tears.

"It's okay," Haru assured. It's okay to be scared. "Don't worry. I'll protect you."

At those words Makoto's bottom lip started to tremble even more and he nodded, squeezing Haru's hand back. This was exactly what he had needed to hear and he clung to Haru's arm, burying his face in his shoulder as a few stray tears left his eyes and seeped into the cotton of Haru's shirt.

Although he was still scared, he believed that Haru would protect him from every evil spirit and ghost.

And if that night, Haru may have scooted quite a bit closer to Makoto's futon, then that was purely coincidental.