Author's Notes: Please read!
**IMPORTANT!**
This chapter is made up of two parts; the first part wraps up the "Investigation" segment (but that does not mean there won't be any more investigating going on afterwards; it just means that things are picking up), and the second part starts to move into heavier stuff.
So basically, the first creepy encounter is starting in this chapter! Hence the title :D
Please enjoy, darlings! MUAHS!
Oh, forgot to say: there's a new character arrival—! I think this will make a certain someone who's been asking about this particular character happy. ; )
~o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o~
Matthew, muffling a big yawn, gave a small giggle as Alfred, gulping down his tea, put the cup down with a deep, content sigh and rubbed his stomach.
"Nothing cheers me up more than a good meal!" The American, cheeks nicely flushed and grin bright, said in a cheerful voice.
Francis chuckled a little, putting down his chopsticks. His hand was carefully cleaned and wrapped up with bandages after crushed herbs were applied onto the cut by Yao, who advised him to keep it away from water until the next day.
"Thanks for all the good food you've been providing us, Kiku!" Alfred gave an appreciative wink at the Japanese man, who nodded respectfully and smiled.
"So," The self-appointed hero of the team turned to his team mates, "Should we get goin' on the setup at the mansion? I've been thinkin' to start fast and finish fast so we can look around the area as well, you know, not just inside the mansion. Whatever it was that kept Mr. Ghostie sealed up must be around there somewhere, yeah? Or at least we should hope it's still around there somewhere."
"That sounds good to me, aru," Yao nodded, "It would be great if we could find more clues for this case."
With that, the group got up from their seats. Matthew made to stand, but ended up flopping back down landing on his bum as his balance wavered. Francis, noting the small development, frowned in slight concern. He knelt back down beside the Canadian, who was fighting another yawn and blinking bleary eyes.
"Matthieu?" The Frenchman placed his hands gently on the smaller man's shoulders; "Are you feeling alright?" His voice was soft, and almost a low rumble; the sound calmed Matthew, and made his blinks slower and heavier.
"I…I don't know why but…I'm—I'm suddenly very—…very—I feel like I'm going to—" It was as if he was suddenly covered by a thick blanket of sleepiness; his body felt heavy, and, in a rather abrupt manner, he felt his conscious mind begin to slip.
Why am I…suddenly so tired…?
Francis frowned, holding the strawberry blonde against his chest for support as the younger man's eyelids started to droop.
Matthew gave another mumble; he himself didn't even know what he said.
"Maybe Matthieu should get some rest in the side house for today; we can do the set up ourselves, non?" Francis, looking up at the rest of the team, asked.
"Yeah, 'course," Even Alfred looked worried, vibrant blue eyes watching Matthew lean into Francis' arms as he couldn't find enough strength to prop himself upright, "Did he not get any sleep last night or somethin'?"
"I am quite sure he slept well enough under the given circumstances; he told me he had a good rest after I left for my watch on the monitors." The Frenchman was as confused as the rest of them; he shifted in his position a little and gave Matthew a kiss on the forehead; "He doesn't have a fever…c'est étrange..."
"…I—I'm sorry…I'm okay, really……" The Canadian's mumble made sense this time, though he could barely blink open his eyes anymore. He'd gone completely limp, resting his full weight against Francis' chest.
Francis gave a small smile, ocean blue eyes in affectionate shimmers; he gave his little Matthieu three more kisses, one on his forehead, one on his cute little nose, and another one on his slightly pouted lips. His little Matthieu made a cute little noise, and he chuckled.
"I will take you to bed, mon chouchou." Carefully scooping the half-asleep blonde into his arms, he briefly paused in his steps as he passed by Alfred and the others; "I will meet you out front."
"Yup," Alfred nodded before giving Matthew an amused smile and a big ruffle of hair, much to the Canadian's annoyance to which he gave a whine of protest; "Rest up, Mattie!"
"Yeah, sleep well, aru." Matthew couldn't see the Chinese man even if he tried from his angle, but murmured out a "thanks, Yao".
As Francis carried Matthew off to their bedroom to tuck the sleepy man in, Kiku, dark eyes following the two figures, voiced out his concern: "I hope Matthew-san isn't…tired because of the supernatural occurrences…?"
"I donno, but whatever it is, I hope he'd have a nice, long, insightful dream. We could use some help." Alfred said, not seeing the look of confusion the Japanese man gave him.
~o0o0o0o0o~
"Oh wow! …My God! These are…These are all top-notch equipments!" Alfred stood in front of the opened trunk of a van, staring wide-eyed with mouth hanging open at the fancy cameras and other related items encased in boxes. "This is—This is awesome! How-How much—…These must've cost a fortune even for renting!" He looked like he didn't know whether to be stunned or overjoyed, and ended up with a crooked grin of both emotions toppling over one another.
"My father informed me to not withhold on money well-spent, so I did not." Kiku, with a small smile, was glad that what he got was satisfactory, to say the least; "I see you like them, so I suppose they will suffice?" He asked, though he already knew the answer.
"Suffice? Are you friggin' kidding me?" The American huffed out a thrilled bark of laughter and ran his fingers through his messy, short blond hair; "I don't even know what that word means!" Giddy excitement practically glowing from his expressions, Alfred hurriedly opened another one of the boxes and gasped most dramatically as another brand-new, shiny camera came into view; it sparkled in his eyes. "Oh my God…—Can I marry you too?" He swung around to face the Japanese man, and looked like he could've kissed him.
Kiku took a small step back, catching the intention clear in brilliantly flashing eyes, a little frightened.
Alfred didn't notice the slight apprehensiveness in the glance Kiku gave him, and, instead, turned to Yao and grabbed the Chinese man by the arms.
"Your sister's so lucky, man! You're so lucky too, ending up with such a rich brother-in-law!" He shook the slender form, voice much louder than what was appropriate as he suddenly out of nowhere whined in jealousy: "Why can't I be related to you?"
"S-Stop shaking me, aru!" Yao was starting to see stars.
"Oh man! I can't wait to set these babies up and see how they work!" As abruptly as he grabbed his victim, he gave a last shake and let go, half-shoving accidentally.
Yao, not even allowed a second to cry out in surprise, fell on his butt onto the ground.
"Alright! Let's kick some supernatural ass…with these super kick-ass cameras!" Taking a box into his arms, the giddy American ran off into the mansion, carrying the heavy equipment as though it weighed nothing.
Francis, helping Yao back up onto his feet, cast a worried glance in the direction a certain bouncy blonde went off to; he really hoped Alfred wouldn't trip and end up dropping the box with contents which were probably worth at least an arm and a leg.
"I didn't know Alfred-san likes cameras this much." Kiku blinked slowly, watching the door in which the American disappeared into.
"He doesn't really like them in particular, aru…He just likes expensive, impressive things." Yao looked quite disgruntled at being shoved down to land on his behind, patting spots of dust from the back of his pants and his buttocks.
Francis was going to help, but a dark, threatening look from the Chinese man stopped him.
"…If you grope my butt, aru—"
"-I wasn't going to!" Francis, dismayed that he was so ill-trusted, gasped, hands shooting up to cover his chest as if physically pained, eyebrows furrowing most melodramatically; "You hurt my feelings, mon ami!"
Yao only narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"I would never—" The Frenchman abruptly paused, blinking, "…Well, I would but…I wasn't thinking about that when I tried to help you!"
"Sure, Francis…" Yao, expression clearly disbelieving, walked around and got a box himself; "We should stop wasting time and start bringing these into the mansion, aru."
Francis, half-pouting, sighed, disappointed that his friend put so little trust in him. As the Chinese man, arms full of expensive equipments, passed by him, however, the pout turned into a mischievous leer.
Yao, steps significantly slower than Alfred's but at a nicer pace, had just thought the little episode was over when a gloved hand slapped him on the butt.
"-ARUUU!"
Francis had just gotten a nice handful of firm but soft flesh when the Asian man jumped in the air (quite impressively high actually) and hollered.
"F-FRANCIS!" Yao, face completely red, shouted out and would've given the now annoyingly pleased Frenchman a side-kick on the head if it weren't for how valuable what he was carrying was; "I—YOU—" He spluttered, rooted to the spot and flushed enough for steam to come out of his ears.
"-Ahhh, no time to waste; we should get to work, oui~~?" With a wink and a shameless flip of long, shimmering golden hair, Francis, chuckling softly under his breath and very much satisfied, whistled a small, happy tune as he took one of the camera boxes and skipped off towards the entrance to the mansion.
After many soundless moments, Yao snapped out of it, and, stomping after the Frenchman, cried out in embarrassed anger: "-W-Wait till Ivan hears about this, aru!"
Kiku, motioning his household employees with instructions to follow the team, watched the proceedings with great curiosity.
Is butt-slapping common and appropriate in western culture? How strange…
Shaking his head clear of wandering thoughts, he picked up a box himself, and followed after the still yelling Chinese man.
As he stepped through the mansion doors, he was surprised to find the team standing there, waiting for him, their boxes on the floor.
"Is something the matter?" He quickly got over his surprise, and asked in an even, inquiring tone.
"Nah, I'm just wondering if we should start off with the second floor instead, work our way down from top to bottom kinda thing," Alfred answered with a bright smile; "Just in case we run out of time, we'd at least finish inspecting the entire mansion; the second floor's the only place we haven't carefully checked out, right?" He motioned at the mouth of the stairs leading up to the second floor with a thumb.
"Of course; whatever you think would be the best is fine with me." Kiku nodded.
"Great! Let's get rollin'!" Flashing a toothy grin and beaming with energy, the American lifted up his box and hopped up the stairs surprisingly effortlessly.
The rest of the group looked at each other and shared amused smiles.
Alfred always made serious business feel like going to an amusement park.
~o0o0o0o0o~
He had waited for so long, patiently, and expectantly.
Almost too long…but he did not complain to what God had planned for him.
The mouth of the well was no longer obstructed, but completely open.
Bright light splashed in, and he almost wept at how much he had missed it.
But he did not cry, because he was to be strong, and calm-hearted even facing the most dire of circumstances.
He rose from the well; he did not quite understand how he did it, but he thought it as God's doing.
He rose higher, almost to the opening, and reached up his hand.
His hand met sunlight, and a flash of pain made him retrieve it.
The sun burnt his skin, and he frowned, before memory suddenly came back to him.
Oh…of course, it had always been that way.
He could hear voices and strange sounds.
His eyes narrowed, hatred making his cold blood boil.
These men were invading his land!
…No need to be hasty; he told himself.
He could wait.
It won't be long now…
He could wait.
When the time comes, when the moon rises, when the night spreads across the sky, infesting the colours of day with darkness, he would be free…
…be free to end their lives with a swift, practiced swing of his sword.
...
Matthew woke up; it was hard, as it pulling himself out of a large puddle of sticky glue.
He didn't want to wake up; his mind was still screaming for sleep, but he knew he must.
This was the second time he dreamt of that well, so he knew, for certain this time, that it was important, whether an actual body was found inside it or not.
With new, half-guessed but likely information from what Yao had explained back at the shrine, he assumed that the well had significance, since, though the spirit didn't recognize the various loud noises in the background, he did.
It was the sounds of walls being knocked over and repairs being done, with the loud chatter of men in the mixture.
In other words, it was the sounds of a team of construction workers.
The lid…the construction team got rid of the lid…
Matthew sat up, rubbing his groggy eyes.
He must inform his friends and lover at the mansion.
Glancing out the window, he realized, with slight guilt, that it was already near sunset (I slept for that long…?), but there was still enough light out to allow him time to get to the mansion, find everyone, and take them to have a quick look at the well.
Anxious to tell the others about the newest piece of information that could very well give them a huge step forward in investigation, the usually patient Canadian scrambled up onto his feet and ran out of the room, almost forgetting to put on a proper pair of pants. Kicking them on along with his given pair of indoor slippers, he nearly tripped as his sense of balance was still a little askew, but caught himself.
The mansion wasn't far, but it would take some time to get to on foot.
Wasting no time, he dashed out through door of the side house, vaguely aware of the household staff calling after him in Japanese, probably asking him where he was going. He didn't answer despite of feeling bad for being disrespectful; it wasn't as if he'd know how to explain himself anyways, being barely bilingual and all (He was getting better at understanding Francis when he drops random French phrases here and there, though that largely had to do with the Frenchman's hand gestures and overall expression).
Running down the road, his breaths started to come in short huffs. It wasn't unexpected since he had just dragged his body out of complete rest to hard cardio in the span of less than a minute. Deciding that the new information was worth the exertion, he brushed aside the pinching ache in his muscles, and pushed on.
Matthew ran quickly in large strides, unaware that he was still wearing slippers.
~o0o0o0o0o~
The team had just finished setting up the equipments in the last room of the mansion. Needless to say, they were tired from running back and forth with heavy boxes, all panting a little and slightly red in the face, some more flushed than others. Alfred once again had a towel around his neck, which he used to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and Francis had his hair tied back.
After close inspection, it was clear that there was nothing out of the ordinary on the second floor. It was much more spacious than they had anticipated, except for Kiku of course, but it looked normal enough. Stairs became a real pain in the ass after what felt like ages of climbing them up and down, and, despite of the season and temperature, the air quickly began to feel a little stifling as no windows were open to allow for a breeze.
In all, the team was glad that the rather repetitive labour was over and done with.
"I guess all that's left t'do for today's headin' back to have a chat with the staff, having dinner, and then an awesome time at the hot springs!" Alfred, suddenly rejuvenated, cheered and looked very pleased with the evening's plans, more so towards the hot springs than others, but food sounded good too. Talking to the staff was a little boring compared to the other plans, since it required taking notes, but it was necessary.
"I can use a nice soak; my muscles are all knotted up and stuff." He rubbed his shoulders and back, which were a little sore.
"You should've been more careful lifting such heavy things, Alfred," Francis said, looking up from plugging various wires into a camera; "I wouldn't be surprised if you develop a nasty pinch tomorrow."
"Nah, heroes are invincible!" The American carelessly brushed it aside.
"Francis is right, aru," Yao frowned, a little worried.
"There is a spa conjoined with the Onsen we will be going to; perhaps we can schedule a massage session for Alfred-san," Kiku suggested; "Perhaps we should all schedule one if you would like?"
"Ooooh a massage sounds great!" The younger blonde in the room perked up, eyes sparkling expectantly; "I mean, not that I need it, but I'd love one anyways!"
Francis chuckled and shook his head; turning to Kiku, he gave a small nod: "A massage sounds lovely."
"Agreed, aru!"
Nodding, the Japanese man turned to his staff, and murmured in his native tongue, instructing the men in black suits to make appointments. Just as he finished his requests, the door to the room slid open.
Quick, light footsteps rushed toward him in a flurry, and he only had the time to catch a glimpse of long, silky brown hair adorned with a beautiful, pink-flower hair piece and sparkling eyes before slim arms wrapped around his shoulders and a soft, slender body pressed against his.
"Kiku! I missed you!" A melodic voice spoke sweetly in Japanese, and a soft scent of fresh plum blossoms hung in the air around him.
Kiku immediately froze in surprise, eyes widening. A hot blush burned his cheeks as he felt soft breasts press against his chest.
"Hey, who's the hottie?" Alfred's flirtatious voice spoke next, but was cut off.
"—Meimei!" Yao interrupted, a gasp of pleasant surprise following his initial recognition.
The young girl, having just noticed the other people around the room, turned around. Her pale cheeks pinked, though almond-shaped eyes rounded as her small, pink lips opened into a small "o".
"…Gege!" She said, a pale hand rising to gently cover over her slightly-agape mouth.
It only took a brief second for her expressions to change to that of adoration at seeing someone dear after a long time of being parted. She turned on her feet, flowing sleeves and long skirt swishing around her thin frame as she held her arms apart for an embrace, swiftly approaching the Chinese man, who wore a similar expression but with a bigger smile.
"I haven't seen you in so long!" Her speech immediately changed to another language as her eyes, sparkly as if gemstones, gazed into Yao's.
She was barely two paces away from Yao's opened arms, and she held hers higher, a bright, bell-like giggle leaving her lips. Yao, with a happy grin, was ready to scoop her up high into the air like what he used to do when they were younger.
And suddenly, a tall form cut in between them.
The young woman jumped slightly, too late to stop, and landed in the arms of a cheeky American.
"Ooooh I feel the looooove!" Pressing the girl's body close to his, it only took one look at the facial expression on Alfred's face for onlookers to know just what exactly it was that he felt.
"-G-GET AWAY FROM MY SISTER, ARU!" Yao instantly cried out in protest and began trying to tug the stubborn blonde off, while his sister flushed bright scarlet and spluttered in shock, making soft, squeaking noises.
"-KIKUUUU!" Yao, finding his task difficult when the American decided to be persistent and continued to hold onto his sister tightly, sought for help, "Help me pull him off, aru!" When no reply met his plea for help, he turned.
Taking one look at the Japanese man, he blinked and paused in his actions; "…Kiku?"
Kiku was motionless, as if frozen in time, eyes still wide open and face completely red; one of his eyebrows seemed to jerk unevenly.
Everyone in the room shifted their attention from the brother to the fiancée, wondering what was wrong.
After a moment of silence, Kiku seemed to have finally snapped out of it, and, with a shaky voice, he stuttered:
"…M-Mei-chan…That was my first time…!"
~o0o0o~
Matthew, panting, stood in front of the mansion. Looking around with slight confusion, he was surprised to find no one inside the car parked out front, since he thought that at least one staff member would be waiting inside it or at least out and about in the garden, keeping an eye on things.
Shrugging, he quickly went inside.
"…Francis? Alfred?" He called out; "Yao? Kiku?"
Frowning when no one replied, he tried to listen for voices, but only heard silence.
Mumbling under his breath about stupid large houses, he quickly picked the right, and went down the hall to check the rooms for his team mates.
Since the car was still there, it must've meant that they haven't left yet.
~o0o0o~
"I…I'm sorry I was so forward today, Kiku…It's just that…I haven't seen you in a week and-and…I let my emotions get over my head! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to offend you!" Mei was let out of Alfred's arms, wincing slightly when she noticed just how flustered her fiancée had become. Instantly switching to Japanese, she thought it'd give the poor man at least some privacy.
It was true; they kept their relationship at a very respectable level, and did not publicly display their affection for each other by physical means. Kiku was very shy in that aspect, but his tender gaze of love and almost timid brushes as he reached to hold her hands when they were alone satisfied the young lady and made her feel butterflies in her stomach. He was a gentleman, and tradition was important to him, which Mei appreciated and respected (so little men these days have manners like her Kiku).
Which explained why the hug, being the first one they had ever shared and in front of an audience, had completely thrown the Japanese man off into embarrassment and God knows what else that was racing inside his head at millions of miles per second.
Kiku himself didn't even know what was racing inside his head at millions of miles per second; all he could think about was Mei's warm, soft body pressed against his, and the way her breaths tickled his skin, giving his spine an electrifying tingle as she nuzzled her head at where his neck met his shoulders.
"…Kiku…?" Mei, worried, nudged his arm, and jolted him out of his thoughts, "Are you—…Are you mad…?" She shifted on her feet, and looked up at him with worried, guilty eyes.
Kiku swallowed, and fought to recompose himself.
When he was semi-sure his voice wouldn't tremble, he spoke: "Of course not, Mei-chan. The hug—…it was…nice…" Another blush quickly stained his cheeks, and he averted his eyes.
Behind them, Alfred snickered; he had no idea what was being said of course, but from the couple's expressions he could at least take a good guess at what was going on.
Francis looked just as amused, but kept it to himself, more polite and understanding of Kiku's feelings. He suddenly jerked a little with a blink, head tilting to the side, a small frown on his face. He could've sworn he just heard his name being called…
"…Did you hear that?" He asked, voice murmured.
"Hear what?" Alfred looked around; "I didn't hear anything."
The Frenchman rolled his eyes (why would anyone look when they're trying to hear something?), but nodded and brushed it off as his imagination. Everyone in the mansion, after all, was standing right in front of him.
Yao didn't catch the small conversation, and looked a little uncomfortable, having understood parts of what was being said between the couple, especially Kiku's "first time" exclaim, but it was understandable, being the older brother and all. He quickly cleared his throat, and tried to change the topic:
"So…meimei, what are you doing here, aru?" He spoke in English so that everyone understood; "I thought you weren't coming to visit till later."
"Oh, of course! I haven't explained! But before that," Mei turned to face the team with an apologetic smile, surprising some with her perfect English; "I'm sorry to appear so forward, especially since this is my first time meeting you, my brother's colleagues," At that she gave Alfred and Francis a slight bow, catching both their eyes.
"It's alright," Alfred gave a small, dismissive wave with a toothy grin.
"Oui, c'est rien." Francis nodded a little, a few strands of loose waves falling from behind his ears, to which he tucked back with a lazy motion accompanied by a warm smile.
"Stop trying to flirt with my sister, aru." Yao gave the Frenchman a dark look.
The taller blonde looked taken back by astonishment, eyes round and innocent; "Whatever do you mean, mon cher ami? What did I do?"
The Chinese man didn't answer, and only grumbled under his breath.
Stupid Frenchman not even realizing it when he's trying to charm with his stupid hair tucking and his stupid hand gestures and his—
Though, in truth, the dark look was more due to the fact that he was still feeling sore about the slap on his butt.
…Ivan hasn't even touched me there, aru!
But Mei, continuing to answer his question, interrupted his thoughts: "I'm sorry I couldn't personally pick you up from the airport; Kiku said it would be the best for me to not visit too soon since the media was exceptionally curious about your arrivals for some reasons, so I had to wait for them to settle down." Absentmindedly trying to brush back an oddly curly strand of hair, she went on; "There was also something I had to do before I could come visit, but I finished it sooner than I thought, so here I am!" She looked over the group, and her eyes rested on a pair of deep, dark ones.
Warmth had softened Kiku's expressions; he seemed to be finished with being flustered.
"I am glad you came, Mei-chan."
The couple gazed into each other's eyes, and shared a shy smile.
"Hey, uhhh, as much as I love loving moments, the sun's kinda going' down now; maybe we should start heading back?" Alfred said, eyeing the fading red and orange splashed across the sky already turning dark through the window.
"Oh! …Y-Yes, of course, we should." Kiku blinked out of the moment, and bit back another blush fighting to heat up his cheeks.
"Why don't you come with me? I can drive us in my car." Mei offered eagerly; "We are going to the side house, right?"
Yao opened his mouth to answer, but was beaten to it by an energetic American: "Yep! That'd be great! Is your car parked out front?"
"Oh no, I came by the side door."
"Right!" Alfred gave a curt nod, and turned to his team, "So, we got everything covered, yeah?"
Yao returned his nod, and Francis confirmed with a "Oui, je crois.".
"You could've just said 'yes', ya know." Alfred directed a small frown at the Frenchman, who made him feel a little stupid sometimes with his dropped-in French.
"Mais tu m'as compris, non?" The older blonde gave a casual shrug; "Besides, if I don't at least speak some français on occasions when you can actually understand, I won't be able to say anything at all!"
Engaged in a rather pointless bicker with an American who was probably just bored and needed to say something, Francis followed the group out of the mansion grounds by the side door.
Kiku addressed his staff members to lock up the gates and head back to the side house after. He walked towards Mei's car after he was finished, where everyone was waiting, as the sun sank lower and lower behind the horizon.
None of them was aware that they had completely missed another member of their team still anxiously searching for them inside the haunted building.
.
..
...
......
...
..
.
Matthew was frightened.
No, he was terrified.
It was quiet, too quiet, but that was not made him afraid the most.
The sun had gone down.
He hadn't realized through his anxious searching until suddenly, he noticed with a start, that the clouds were no longer aflame with red and orange as they were during dusk.
There were still a little light out, but it was quickly being devoured by the almost abrupt arrival of night.
Matthew stood in the middle of a hallway; he no longer knew where he was, getting lost in the almost maze-like mansion. He was completely still, eyes bright and shiny, flickering back and forth in front of him, though unseeing.
He was desperately trying to listen for sounds – any sounds other than his own hushed breathing and loud heartbeats inside his ribcage.
…I should get out…yeah…I should get out…
He was almost too scared to move his feet as if it'd break whatever spell enveloping the massive house with suffocating silence.
But any silence was better than meeting a vengeful spirit armed with a sword.
There were no birds chirping and calling to each other in the distance, no soft ruffling sounds of leaves as wind blew.
Everything was completely, deathly still.
Matthew swallowed; his throat was dry.
…Alright Matthew…Seriously, you should get out of here, eh…?
He took a small step back, and nearly jumped out of his skin when the wood groaned under his foot.
…CreeeeeeEEEEEEEeeeeeeeak……
He gasped, but his hands immediately muffled it.
…That was not the sound from the floor under his foot.
His body began to tremble; his legs were shaking badly.
…F-Francis…Francis…
He almost whimpered out, wishing nothing more than to be in the Frenchman's arms, safe and warm.
…Ok Matthew…calm down…The temperature is cooling rapidly, and this is a wooden house…
…Yeah, that's it…it was just the wood…
He took another step back, the wood groaned again.
…Creeeeeeeaak…
-thud…
He instantly froze, eyes unblinking and wide.
…Creeeeeeeaaak…
-thud…
Breaths hitched in his throat.
…Creeeeeeeeeaaaaak…thud…
It was getting closer…
…Creeeeeeeeeeeeaaaak…thud…
…Closer—
…Creeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaak…thud…
Where—Where was it—
…CreeeeeEEEEEEEeeaaaaaak…
-Where—!
--THUD!
Suddenly, a face appeared right in front of his; he couldn't even gasp in terror.
A man was dangling upside down from the ceiling, peering at him with white eyes pupil-less.
He stared right back into them, mouth hanging open behind sweaty palms as a silent gasp died in his throat.
Seconds ticked by soundlessly.
Matthew swung around on his feet and bolted.
Running down the hall at neck-breaking speed, he couldn't even scream though fear was almost bursting out of his chest. His breaths were loud, echoing in the long, empty hall, huffed and laboured. His footsteps were louder; they were so fast that he felt as though his feet barely touched the floor as air whooshed past his ears.
Adrenaline rushed through his blood vessels. His heartbeats thundered from inside his chest.
…Faster, faster, faster, FASTER!
He crashed into the wall as he reached the end of the hall. Only bracing himself as he shot out his arms and pushed with his palms, he diverted the momentum to turn on his feet, never stopping in his mad dash towards safety.
…Oh God…Oh God!
He didn't know if it was his imagination, but he could feel cold breaths at the back of his neck.
The door suddenly came into view; he gasped.
He was almost there!
Jumping out of the main entrance to the mansion and pretty much stumbling down the stairs, he rushed towards the front gates—
-And they were locked.
"…No…"
He shook his head slowly and shakily, disbelieving eyes wide and bright.
"…Come on…This isn't funny, eh…?"
He tried again.
"…No…"
Again.
"…No…!"
Again!
"No…! Don't do this to me!"
He pulled at the knobs, body in violent spasms as he yanked at the stubborn thing, but it would not budge.
"…No!"
He pushed, trying to force the doors open with all his might, but they did not give in.
"—No!"
Hysteria seized him.
"…NO! NO!"
He slammed his fists down against the gates, screams broken and frantic. Tears swelled in his eyes in an instance and fell down his cheeks in torrents.
He was going to die.
"NO! NO! HELP! HELP!"
Panic almost made him sick, but he was too terrified to find time to recognize it.
"-FRANCIS! FRANCIS!" His screams were louder, raw and piercing; he begged – begged that if he called out loud enough the Frenchman would suddenly appear out of thin air and save him.
But all that greeted him was silence, dead silence.
"…No…No…!" Matthew whimpered, and collapsed, legs shaking too violently to be able to support his weight. He was crying in hopes that the sound traveled far enough to catch the attention of any passer-bys or anyone who was close around the area (though that was very unlikely), but mostly out of blinding fear that twisted his guts into a tight, nauseating knot.
His sobs gave away his location, but that did not matter, because the spirit of the warrior man was going to find him either way.
Huddling closer to the gates, he pressed himself against the wood, hoping that it'd protect him from being brutally slaughtered.
"…N-No…No…! I…I don't want to die…!"
A shrill sound of a sword being drawn from its sheath pierced into his ears.
Eyes flying open, he almost choked on his gasp, tears shinning on his cheeks, catching the light reflected off from the deadly, glinting sword.
The man was tall, but what made him even more frightening was the way he carried himself, proud, fearless, and cold-blooded.
He stood at the entrance to the mansion as if protecting it, eyes staring straight into Matthew's, who was a trembling mess on the ground trying to make himself disappear by scooting as close to the gates as he could.
For painfully still moments, they only watched each other.
Matthew, hands clenching into fists, felt the corners of his eyes begin to prickle, and he blinked.
In a flash, the figure shot forward at inhuman speed, and raised his sword.
There was an ear-splitting sound as it cut through air itself, and it was swung down.
~o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o~
Translations:
Meimei – Younger sister
Gege – Older brother
Oui, c'est rien. – Yes, it's nothing.
Oui, je crois. – Yes, I believe.
Mais tu m'as compris, non? – But you understood me, no?
Many thanks to Steph for corrections! :D
Ending Notes: Oh c'mon, y'all love cliff-hangers! :D –hides behind a rock to dodge tomatoes thrown– …Buono tomato, buono tomato…–hearts–
Anyways, I'm sorry for the wait, everyone! I got sick again (Horray…), and this time it was exceptionally stupid 'cause I couldn't look at any electronic screens for too long…like I can't watch TV or go on the computer for more than 5 minutes 'cause it makes me feel like throwing up, and that ain't pretty, man.
So I had to write everything down in a notebook. I felt so accomplished afterwards. LOL
Hope you liked the creepy parts (Poor Mattie though)! Next chapter is going to be a helluva rollercoaster to write! I can't wait! 8D
I have no idea if there are such things as spas conjoint with those hot spring places in Japan; I just put that in there 'cause I didn't know if those hot spring places offered massages, and just in case they don't I added the spa part in there. XD Just pretend they exist if they don't! ;_;
Oh! Yes! About replies to reviews:
I'm so sorry I haven't been replying! D: I AM, however, slowly getting through them (it'll just take some time, but I will definitely eventually get back to all of you awesome sweethearts), but please know that I did read all of them, and they touched me so much! …Not inappropriately, but y'all know what I mean. –thumbs up– You'd be surprised at how much all of your words encouraged me as I was sniffling and pathetic lying in bed all day, so I really can't thank you enough! ;_;
The next update will probably be in two weeks time; I'm trying to keep to Thursdays 'cause I like Thursdays. =p I read through all of your advice (Thanks so much by the way! I love getting to know what everyone thinks!), and decided on longer chapters every other week 'cause I think it'll work with the plot better. Sorry about the longer wait! But I'll try my best to make the waiting worthwhile! Promise!
Before I go, here's a little teaser! I was scribbling down ideas when this one came to me; I'm not sure how to fit it in yet, but I kinda like it, so it'll be making an appearance. Please enjoy! This'll give you some hints as to what's gonna happen next. ; )
~o0o0o0o0o~
Short Teaser:
"-MATTIE!" He heard Alfred's voice seconds before the back of his head crashed into the wall he was thrown into.
But that was the least of his worries.
His neck was getting crushed under the iron-grip; he could feel the cartilage of his windpipe crinkling as it was starting to collapse in on itself.
Clawing at the hand and legs kicking feebly under him, tears appeared in his eyes as the pressure grew unbearable. Black spots started to appear in his vision, and he was almost glad, as it partially blocked the sight of Francis' frighteningly stoic face and glare of piercing hatred bearing into his eyes.
"-F-Francis—" He choked out, but it was almost immediately cut off as the hand tightened even more.
Tears fell.
-Francis—Francis—No—!
"-What the hell Francis!" There was a sharp cry of pain from Alfred, but, as much as he wanted to know what had happened to his friend, Matthew couldn't turn his eyes away from his lover's ocean blue eyes, so familiar yet so foreign with hostility.
It shook his core, and fear quickly escalated into something excruciating.
-Francis—…h-help—help…!
~o0o0o0o0o~
Oh no! What the hell's Francis doing? :O
Well, you will find out in two weeks' time, m'dears! –wink wink; gives super squishy hugs and big smooches–
I LOVE YOU ALL—! MUAHS—!