I made sure to load this one up with as many cliches as I could. See if you can find them all.

Rating: T

Theme: Suspense, slightly horror (in a good way though)

Description: Kyo and the gang stay the night at a house. Too bad it's haunted...

Haunted

Yuya's hair was a mess. She sighed in frustration as she smoothed it down with both hands as best she could. The humidity was killing it! Kyo had been walking for days straight, his goal to get to Muramasa's house suddenly seeming to be priority number one on his list. Not even going to the bathroom seemed to top it.

Everyone was tired but no one was going to say anything about it lest they lose their head. They were all bored and irritable. Yukimura had attempted to start a rather unsuccessful game of I Spy. No one would play besides Yuya and there was really nothing else to spy besides trees, ground, and sky. That makes for a rather lame game. Yuya sighed and looked up at the atmosphere. There were large dark clouds gathering around it and she knew that it would start to rain soon.

She dropped her head back down again and focused on the Ying Yang symbol on Kyo's back. It was sort of hypnotic, the way it moved when he walked. Yuya looked up at the back of his head, staring at it so hard it was a wonder that lasers didn't shoot from her sockets. The question as to why he was so anxious to get there was nagging at her but actually asking it was a completely different matter and Yuya rather liked all of her fingers, thank you very much. She sighed again, the only noise in the surrounding forest. All was still.

A loud crash echoed around them, causing anyone with fighting experience (aka: anyone but Yuya), to whip their weapons out and hold them at the ready. Yuya just jumped practically five feet into the air, and then started to laugh. Five and a half pairs of eyes all simultaneously turned to look at her like she had just lost her mind. Yuya waved her hand at them and continued to laugh, harder this time. So hard, she had to bend over and support herself on her knees.

"It's just;" laughter "The thunder," more laughs "scared me!" Yuya gasped out, wiping tears of mirth away from her eyes. Sasuke smiled and put his sword away. Benitora just shook his head and started saying things about how funny Yuya-han is.

Then it started to rain.

Buckets and buckets of it, with thunder and lightning going off every five seconds. Yuya made a yipping noise and put her hands over her head in a pathetic attempt at keeping herself dry. Botenmaru was holding his coat over his head and hunched over her. Yuya said thank you and turned her attention onto Kyo.

"Kyo!" She called over the pound of rain. He turned his head barely to look at her. His eyes seemed to glow ominously in the sparse light. Yuya gulped. "We need to get out of the rain!" Kyo turned back around again and, without a word, started to move forward. Botenmaru nudged Yuya with his elbow and motioned with his head that they should follow. Yuya nodded and shivered as a strong gust of wind blew through the trees.

Kyo didn't run to get out of the rain. He was far too manly to run. He walked briskly, and even then it was hard trying to keep up with him while staying under Botenmaru's makeshift umbrella. A few times, Yuya thought she lost sight of him, seeing as his dark kimono blends right in with his surroundings, but then he would turn to tell them to keep up and he was visible again.

It was when they were heading down a hill that Yuya slipped.

There was some mud that she didn't see because she was shielding her eyes from the rain when the wind picked up and began blowing it in her face, the drops like little bullets. She screamed, yes, not a bloody murder scream, but a fairly loud one anyway. She slid right past Kyo who grabbed onto her arm. Yuya had picked up enough speed by the time that he had grabbed a hold of her that she didn't stop, but he started moving too.

Not that they got very far, he stayed on his feet and grabbed onto the branch of a tree before he fell on his butt. Kyo yanked her up onto her feet and kept a firm grip on her elbow while they walked the rest of the way down. Botenmaru made kissing noises in the background. Kyo whipped a pinecone at his face while Yuya turned a light shade of red.

Her embarrassment was forgotten the moment she saw what Kyo must have been looking for; a large house. It was dark and lonely looking, gloomy in a way, but at the moment it looked like heaven on earth. Yuya started to run towards it but was jerked back by Kyo who still had a grip on her arm. She looked back at him in confusion. He was wearing his usual expression, but there was something different about it…

Kyo was confused.

Yuya knew her eyes were so wide it was lucky they didn't fall out of her face and roll away into the forest. "Kyo?" he looked at her. "What's that look for?" she asked hesitantly. He blinked at her then turned away and walked towards the house. Yuya felt her anger rise up when he ignored her. "Kyo! I am talking to you!" she hollered, stomping after him.

"…be here."

Yuya leaned closer to him. "What?"

"This house shouldn't be here…" Kyo said again. Yuya's brow furrowed in confusion.

"That doesn't make any sense. It's standing right there." She told him, pointing out the obvious. Kyo stayed quiet and picked up the pace. A particularly long roll of thunder sounded and Yuya whimpered, trying to lengthen her strides to keep up with him.

Kyo got to the door and slid it open. A strong breeze blew from inside the house and straight into Yuya's face, blowing her hair back.

The wind smelt of… burnt wood?

Yuya shook it off and waltzed right into the house, not even bothering to check both ways before walking into possible danger. She shook out her hair and twisted it, trying to squeeze as much water out as she could. It hit the floor with sharp splashing noises that filled the empty and dark hallways.

Yuya flung her heavy hair back behind her head and looked around. The house was old. Really old.

And smelly.

It did look like it was owned by some very rich people, however. No one seemed to be occupying it at the moment so that was…good? Yes, good.

Creepy, but good.

Kyo was standing behind her and surveying the room with mild distaste, almost bordering on cautious. Okuni had walked in and made upset and complaining remarks about how horrible it was to be her and that she was cold.

Botenmaru had walked in and rung his coat out over the floor. That splashed and Yuya yelped, hopping up onto the higher floor to keep it from getting onto her feet.

"Take your shoes off please." An old and rickety voice said from behind her. Yuya felt the blood drain from her face and she whipped around quickly.

No one was there.

Yuya gulped and turned to look at Kyo who was not paying much attention. She turned and looked back down the dark and suddenly frightening hallway.

She took her shoes off.

Kyo was confused.

No, beyond confused.

This house was supposedly burned down three years ago, and yet, here it stood. He couldn't feel any other presences in the house besides those of his vassals, but there was a cold chill that made him feel… uneasy. He should have taken it as a premonition to leave, but he brushed it off.

He figured that if anything tried to oppose him, it would die. He didn't want to go back out in the rain again, or else he'd risk servant number one getting sick. Kyo glanced over at her when she suddenly fell onto her rear. She was just taking her shoes off, but she did it mechanically and in a twitchy way, looking over her shoulder constantly.

A sudden chill seeped right into Kyo's being and moved his shoulders about restlessly.

"I think I'm going to go take a bath."

Okuni hated being wet and gross and cold. That's why she wanted to take a bath. This house looked big enough and the owners were probably rolling in money, so there was no reason why there wouldn't be a bath anywhere. The house did give her the creeps but it's not like she couldn't take care of herself.

"I'll go with you Okuni-san." Yuya volunteered. Okuni sneered and waved her hand dismissively.

"No. You'll just dirty my water and suck all of the heat out of it." Okuni tossed her hair back. "Well, I'll be back soon." She walked off, looking for a room that could be used to bath in. There were lots of rooms to sleep in and the kitchen she found was really quite large. What caught her attention about the kitchen was that the knives, while everything else was covered with a layer of dust, were gleaming and sharp.

She shook it off and continued on her merry way. The bath was found and Okuni didn't even stop to wonder why it was full of steaming water, she just stripped down and stepped in. The warm water felt unbearably hot for a totally of five seconds before it became perfect. It knocked the cold right out of her bones and she sighed contently while sliding down the side until her mouth was submerged. She blew little bubbles and rubbed at her skin under the water.

There was a quick movement out of the corner of her eye and she turned, ready to tell Yuya that she didn't want her to bath with her. The words never left her mouth.

She didn't even have a chance to scream.

Yuya thumped her head back against the wall and rolled it. "I'm so hungry…" she complained under her breath. Where was Okuni? She should have been back by now. Yuya frowned and spread herself out on the floor kicking her legs up behind her. She was probably hogging the tub just to spite her.

The whole group was crowded into one of the rooms because, even though there were more rooms to stay in then they could count, no one felt like it was safe to be separated.

"She should have been back by now." Yukimura said from his seated position next to the door. Yuya looked over at him.

"Okuni-san might have just gotten lost." Benitora supplied. He pushed himself off of the wall and stretched. He crouched down next to Yuya and hung his arms off his knees. Yuya looked up at him and he smiled down at her playfully.

"This isa big house." Sasuke said, his toy making that annoying clacking sound. "We should split up and go look for her."

It was quiet in the room, no one willing to leave the safety of the group, but knowing that they would have to find Okuni. They ended up splitting into three groups of two, each group heading in different directions. Before Yuya and her partner, Sasuke, left, she looked back at the room and could have sworn she saw a woman crying.

She blinked, when the lightening filled the room with a sharp light and when she looked again, the woman was gone.

Benitora was trying to keep calm; but, quite honestly, it was not an easy thing to do. The house had given off a weird vibe and he had felt it the moment he had stepped in. Now it seemed to have intensified. Yukimura was pretending to be unfazed, but Benitora could tell that he was a little off too.

His hand tightened on the hilt of his spear, all of his instincts kicking in on full gear. He got an odd tingly sensation on the back of his neck and he whipped around in time to see a flash of red flying around the corner. "Hey." He said, tapping Yukimura on the shoulder with his knuckles. Yukimura looked over at him curiously. "I think I saw Okuni." He told him. Yukimura nodded and his eyes darted around.

They headed in the direction that he had seen the assumed Okuni. From behind them came a thud. They both twisted around quickly, Yukimura with his sword half drawn and Benitora pointing his spear at the hallway.

No one was there.

"You heard that right?" Benitora asked Yukimura. Yukimura nodded, putting his sword back in the sheath but keeping a firm grip on it nonetheless.

"Okuni-san?" Yukimura asked in a raised volume that barely qualified as a normal speaking voice. The thump sounded again from the room a few paces in front of them and to the right.

"Let's go check it out." Yukimura whispered. Benitora nodded, still getting the feeling that someone, or something, was watching him. They walked up to the door and both just looked at the handle.

"Well," Benitora said, gesturing to the handle. "Open it." Yukimura shot him a glance and then stuck his fingers in the handle and pulled it open. Sitting on the floor in the room was a little girl in a white kimono and long blond braids running down her back, playing with a ball. She bounced it and it made the thudding noise.

Benitora couldn't help his sigh of relief. He bent down and looked at the girl. "Hey. Where's your mamma?" he asked. The little girl turned to look at them slowly. Benitora let out an exclamation and fell back, scrambling up onto his feet again. Yukimura's sword leapt from it's hilt.

Half of the girl's face was burned.

"Dead." She said and leaped at them.

Kyo stopped moving suddenly when he thought he heard a noise. "Did you hear that?" he asked. Botenmaru stopped and turned his head, obviously listening. He just shrugged.

"Nah, I don't hear anything. Must just be the wind." He told Kyo and started to walk again. Kyo stood there for a bit looking around then followed after Botenmaru.

Sasuke felt something was off. He thought he could hear people whispering but every time he turned to look behind him, the sound stopped. Yuya didn't seem to notice it, either. He really wanted to know what was making that noise.

"I'll be right back."

Yuya froze and turned to look at Sasuke. "What?" she asked slowly.

"I'll be right back." He repeated. Yuya would have sighed if she wasn't so creeped out. She had heard what he said, she was just more concerned with the fact that he was leaving her all alone in the creepy house.

"What, you're just going to leave me here?" Yuya asked incredulously. Sasuke looked back at her.

"Just for a second."

And then he walked away. Yuya took out her gun and held it at the ready, looking back and forth. She swallowed loudly and turned around and held the gun out in front of her in the customary firing position. She saw a shadow move past the paper door. Yuya looked back at where Sasuke had vanished to and then back at the door.

She moved towards it and pulled it open; making sure that her gun was still ready to shoot.

"Is anyone out there?" Yuya called over the thunder crash. The rain was coming down so hard, she could barely see in front of her, much less across the yard. There was a moving silhouette. Yuya squinted to see it. Lightning flashed and a cat jumped off of the roof with a yowl.

Yuya shrieked, firing off her gun at the animal by accident.

Kyo jerked to a stop when he heard the gun go off.

Botenmaru had disappeared saying he needed to take a leak and hadn't come back yet. Kyo knew the man could handle himself.

He ran towards the gun shot.

Yuya leaned heavily against the door frame and clutched at her heart. "Holy… crap…" she panted. She wanted to get out of this house. Sasuke wasn't right back. Yuya pushed off the wall and reloaded her gun, silently wishing that Kyo was with her. She took a few cautious steps forward, continuously scanning around her. Her nerves were all frazzled and she was wound tighter than a spring.

A hand slammed down onto her shoulder and Yuya let out a full blown, honest to God, bloody murder scream.

Kyo's ears were ringing. He had clamped his hand down over Yuya's mouth and hissed out a; "Shut up!" Okay, admittedly, putting a hand on her shoulder wasn't a good idea, but he didn't want to make any noise and draw attention to them.

The point was mute now. No pun intended.

Kyo heard Yuya say his voice in a breathy sort of a whisper from behind his hand, her breath warming his hand. He pulled it off her face and grabbed onto her chin, bringing her close to him. "Stay. Quiet." He whispered. Then he grabbed onto her elbow again and led her around the corner she was already going to turn.

They walked on in silence, Yuya looking back behind them while Kyo led her to their destination. It was really, really quiet. Yuya shivered and stepped closer to Kyo, her fingers brushing his kimono as a sort of a reassurance. She couldn't deny that she was very happy that Kyo was with her now, she felt safe despite their current condition.

Suddenly, Kyo stopped moving. Yuya bumped into him and jerked her head around. He was staring straight ahead with his head cocked to the side. He looked over at Yuya.

"Do you hear that?"

Yuya strained her hearing and heard what he did.

There was a little girl, and she was singing. It was just a normal children's song that most kids sing, but when this little girl sang it, the song took on an eerie edge. Kyo took one step forward and Yuya practically shouted for him to wait at the same time thunder cracked. Lightning flashed and the hallway was suddenly engulfed in flames.

"Fuck." Kyo swore under his breath, pulling Yuya along with him as he turned around and ran the opposite direction of the fire. The flames licked the walls and the sounds of people screaming could be heard from all around. Am I going mad?

He spotted a way out and ran full speed for it, pulling Yuya so that she ran in front of him where he could keep an eye on her. Below him the floor creaked and that was the only warning he had before it gave way and his foot got stuck in a hole. Yuya heard the crashing noise and turned to look at him.

A stricken look worked its way onto her face and she ran back to his side as he pulled his foot out of the gap, raking the sharp pieces of wood down his leg. He stood up and noticed they were completely surrounded by fire now, pieces of wood falling from the ceiling. Kyo swore and grabbed Yuya holding her face into his chest so she didn't inhale the smoke as he looked around desperately for an out.

There was a hallway and he ran down it. As he ran his eyes flicked back and forth. There was a room and he practically kicked it down, praying that there was a window that they could crawl out of. He screeched to a stop when he took in the scene playing in front of him.

Okuni, Benitora, Yukimura, Sasuke, and Botenmaru were all sitting with two old people, a little girl, and supposedly her parents. Yukimura and Benitora were rip roaring drunk, and Botenmaru was well on his way.

The old couple stood up and bow respectfully. When they rose back up again they asked; "Did you have fun?"

Yuya sighed. Once everything had been explained, she couldn't help but feel foolish. Apparently, the old couple had rebuilt the house that had burnt down three years ago and had turned it into a sort of haunted inn as a way to attract tourists.

Kyo was once again driving the group like cattle because, according to Botenmaru, they were very, very close to Muramasa's house. Yuya looked back at the inn one more time and couldn't stop the nagging feeling that there was something about the inn that…

She blinked and tripped over a root when she thought she saw a little girl with burns and braids run through a tree after a ball.

MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!!

Gosh, that was surprisingly fun to write. Did you find all the cliches?

Review please!