Chapter 23 — Reiha


"A test of courage?" I wrinkle my brow. "Tonight?"

"Yes," a girl from my class (forgot her name) says, before I can escape to the gym. "We're short on people, so if you'd please come, Kasayama-san, that'd be great."

"Ehh, no thanks."

The girl looks crestfallen, and I figure I better get out of there before she tries to bribe me. We've barely gotten back into school, and homework is already piling up. But before I can move, a hand falls onto my shoulder, and Ogiwara's voice says, "Why not, Reiha? Sounds like fun. I'll do it, too, Higashi-san."

Oh. So that was her name. But wait, did Ogiwara really just volunteer us?

"Great!" Higashi says, all smiles now. "I'll sign you two up as a pair. Here's the time and location . . ."

Wait. A pair? Thank goodness she didn't say couple, though.

"Oi, oi," I hiss at Ogiwara as we walk away. "What was all that about?"

He grins at me. "C'mon, Reiha, don't you like doing a good ol' test of courage? I thought you liked thrills."

"Roller coasters, maybe."

"There's nothing wrong with hanging out with your classmates on a haunted summer night."

"Well . . ."

I can't argue with him, but I was looking forward to a break tonight. Even though summer break only ended last week, the routine of school has taken over my life again. Every day I don't have drama club, I'm at the basketball club, then sometimes I'll play with Ogiwara after that. Most of my free time has been spent running lines. I've finally memorized all my parts, so I was going to treat myself tonight with some of the carb-heavy snacks I brought with me. Even I need some time to myself.

But I guess that's not happening anymore.

We reach the gym, and Ogiwara and I part ways. After I talked with Ogiwara in the dōjō, the coherency between the regulars has smoothed over. Ogiwara has been making a better effort of talking with Akashi, Nebuya, Hayama, and Mibuchi, and it seems like they're reciprocating, if a bit surprised. Akashi, too, seems to have changed a bit. I don't know what Mitsuri did, but as she's smiling more lately, I assumed she had a nice little meeting with him.

The events of Inter-High helped a lot, too, because the team is more determined than ever. Ogiwara, in particular, has taken the victory to heart and pumped himself up. While he's sad that he wasn't able to face Kuroko, he's optimistic about having another chance.

Practice goes by quickly, and when Mitsuri arrives, I'm able to give her a good report. As I'm about to leave the gym, though, Ogiwara runs into me — literally. He careens into my side, but before the two of us can sprawl to the ground, he wraps his arms around me and pulls me back upright.

"What do you think you're doing?" I ask him indignantly. I'm all too aware of his arm around me.

"Sorry," he says, finally releasing me. "I just knew I had to catch up with you before you disappeared."

"And why is that?"

"Well, I thought we might hang out a bit since we're going to the same place tonight anyway."

Oh. Right. The test of courage. I'd forgotten all about that.

"Fine," I grumble. "I was going to go home and relax, but I guess I'll survive hanging out with you."

"You don't have to word it like that, you know."

And so we head off.


Several hours later, once darkness has fallen, we make our way to the location Higashi gave us earlier.

It's an old, abandoned-looking building. Probably a place that fell apart due to poor construction and foundation. But I have to admit, with the cloudy skies and slivered moon poking through, the place does create a nice, creepy atmosphere.

I grin to myself, and when Ogiwara jumps at a noise from the surrounding forest, I let out a cackle. He scowls.

"All right!" Higashi shouts above the murmuring of the gathered students. "Is everybody here? I think so . . . okay, let's start!" She starts counting us off in pairs and sending us off two by two. Eventually, Ogiwara and I are the last ones left.

"Okay," Higashi says, checking her watch. "Kasayama-san and Ogiwara-kun, you can go on in now. Remember, there'll be a marked path, and when you reach the end, bring back a ribbon to prove that you made it all the way."

Nodding, Ogiwara smiles at me and leads the way into the house.

It's dark inside, without the light of the moon. The floors creak underneath us, and above, spiderwebs threaten to fall onto our heads. Typical haunted house setting.

"It's been a while since I've done one of these," Ogiwara whispers.

I'm not quite sure why he's whispering, but I whisper back anyway. "Yeah, me too."

"Uh, so which way? Oh, there's the marker."

We turn at the little white flag and head up some stairs. A shadow darts in the corner of my vision, and I turn my head to try and get a better look, but see nothing. Only more shadows, none of them moving.

The stairs seem to last longer than I'd anticipated, but eventually we reach the top floor. The floorboards are even squeakier. But maybe, if they were completely silent, that would be creepier.

"This . . . isn't that scary," Ogiwara says after a few minutes.

"Yeah."

"Is that supposed to be blood?"

"Probably."

"Do you smell something weird?"

"Nah."

"Do you think we might see some dead bodies?"

"That would be kinda cool, wouldn't it?"

"Morbid, though."

And then, Ogiwara is gone.

I turn around, feeling the space around me. My eyes have gotten more adjusted to the dark, but it still seems so . . . black. All around. "Shige?" I say. My voice comes out as a hoarse whisper.

No answer.

I wasn't scared. Having him with me negated any possible effect that place might've had on me . . . but now that I'm alone . . .

I realize that the floor has stopped creaking. I didn't even hear him disappear. There is also no dust — anywhere. It's like someone has been here recently, which isn't something that I would expect of this place. Even if you did have a bunch of students traipsing through for a test of courage, I would still expect dust — just our footprints marking our paths.

I move to the nearest door and open it. It makes no sound. "Shige?" I say again.

The room is empty, no furniture or anything, just a closet in the corner.

The closet door is cracked open.

I stiffen. I always hated closets. As stupid as it was, I was that one kid who was scared of the monsters in the closet and under the bed. Mitsuri used to climb into bed with me to "ward off the nightmares," but . . . Mitsuri isn't here right now.

I step away from the room, not daring enough to approach the closet, but just as I'm about to snap the door shut, a force from the other side pulls on it, keeping the door open.

I shriek, let go of the door handle, and start running away from the room.

But then something wraps around me, and I fall to the ground, a heavy pressure on me — I feel like I'm being swallowed up by . . . cloth?

Then there's laughing.

Untangling myself from a white sheet, I sit up and glare at Ogiwara.

"What in the world do you think you're doing?" I yell.

"C'mon, it was funny!" he says.

"Was not."

"Was too."

"What is this even?" I ask, wrinkling my nose at the white sheet. It smells like mold.

"I found it in the closet," he says.

"Were you trying to freak me out half to death?"

"Yeah. I mean, you hardly seemed bothered by anything, so I wanted to give you a nice scare. So you could remember tonight."

"I don't need to raise my pulse by a hundred beats to remember something."

"But it worked, didn't it?" He scoots closer to me, moving the sheet away. "You were scared, weren't you?"

I wince, but confess anyway. "Yeah, I was."

"I was worried that you might just leave me, but you actually came looking for me, didn't you?"

"You idiot."

"Huh?"

Sometimes, he seems really observant and smart. But at other times, he is so, so ignorant.

"The only reason I wasn't scared is because you were with me," I grumble.

His eyes widen. I can't completely see his expression in the dark, but I imagine he's blushing.

"Do I make that much of a difference?" he asks.

I throw the sheet into his face. He laughs again. Then, standing up, he holds out a hand toward me.

"We should get going, don't you think? Everyone's probably wondering where we are, and I personally, would like to secure that ribbon."

"Okay," I say. "But don't you dare leave me again. Okay?"

"I won't. I promise."

His words seem to carry a heavier weight than what I'd originally implied.

I glance up at him and take his hand.


A/N: Ah, a good ol' kimodameshi. This is actually my first time writing one, despite their rampant appearance in anime/manga. They're so fun! And, of course, great for romances.

Thanks for reading!

~ J. Dominique