Chapter Text
It looked as if time itself had been stopped as soon as he and his group had entered the mansion.
The four had heard rumors of a legend about this hidden mansion in the outskirts of town, home to a monster.
It was supposed to be just a legend.
Thoughts and memories of what led to this rushed to his mind as he ran, and run for his life he did. He was about to enter the basement, when he heard yelling from the rooms above. Fearing for his friend's saving, he rushed to the room where one of them; Mika had hid, only to find himself face to face with that.. thing.
Monsters aren't real.
Pulled back to reality, Hiroshi's heart nearly stopped as he heard footsteps following behind, trembling the old and rotted wooden floorboards with every pace it took forward. He didn't dare look at it anymore.
It's not scientifically possible.
He told himself, over and over, as if this was just a bad dream he'd soon wake up from. As if the blood spilled wasn't real.
It seemed to be closing in, still stalking the white-haired boy. Desperate eyes scanned around the hallways that seemed to never and for anywhere where he could lose it - a wooden door would soon scream salvation, as he immediately turned and rushed towards it. His long white scarf flew back from the momentum as Hiroshi managed to hold onto the door handle, making his way in and swiftly slamming the door behind.
Thankfully, that seemed to always hold back what had been chasing him for a tiny bit of time, giving the boy just enough time to take in his surroundings. The room was dark, with a flickering and weak light bulb giving off the only source of light. It seemed no different than the previous rooms he had stumbled upon while exploring earlier. A closet off to the side pulled his glance, as a heavy knock on the door coming from the beast outside briefly pulled him back out of his thoughts.
Not taking any further time to think, Hiroshi close to flung open the closet panel, before throwing himself inside as fast as he possibly could, making sure to not get his long scarf stuck outside while doing so.
Once inside, he took a brief sigh of relief and adjusted his glasses, before soon noticing that something just wasn't quite right. The wooden boards of the closet weren't the same - softer, seeming to shift under his weight, and almost as if moving on their own..?
It was dark inside. The brief spots of life that filtered in from outside were weak, blinking every few moments. Something felt off, but he couldn't quite tell what it was.
Soon, he'd hear breathing - not his own, and that's when Hiroshi froze. The worst case scenario came to mind first; great, he just got himself trapped inside with the human-eating monster... yet, nothing seemed to happen.
"Ow."
A faint voice came from where he was sitting. Hiroshi nearly jumped back when he felt something pull his scarf, finally prompting him to get up, adjusting himself to the other side of the corner.
It was when finally, he'd see whatever was it that he'd been stuck with in the closet. A.. person?
As dim as the lights were, he was able to make out a silhouette. They seemed to pull themselves up to a sitting position, rubbing their back as if it was hurting - seems like that's what he was on top of.
The face was too dark to fully see, but Hiroshi swore he briefly noticed an annoyed expression present in it. Whoever it was too, most certainly wasn't part of the group of friends he originally came here with. So much for a first impression.
There was barely any space in the closet for one person, so the two were uncomfortably smushed up together.
"I-" He opened his mouth, wanting to apologize for the whole accident, but that got cut short as the other person rushed to cover Hiroshi's mouth with their hand.
Stressed and confused at the sudden action, Hiroshi raised his own to push the hand away, but soon stopped himself as finally something seemed to click in his mind. Taking in the silence that filled the room now that his mind wasn't swirling with every single thought in the world, he heard a door slam open.
Footsteps followed, slow, yet loud, shook the floor with each step taken closer to where they were.
Hiroshi froze. He didn't dare move a muscle, as he noticed the other person making a shushing gesture with their hand. Quiet now, he realized just why they’d do that.
The sound of breathing, unlike any human’s lingered right outside the closet doors they hid inside.
It drew nearer to the closet. So close, he could literally hear the creature from the other side. Hiroshi shut his eyes, swearing he was going to die right now. Whoever was inside with him appeared to be in a similar situation, heartbeat spiking to extreme rates.
And somehow, as fast as it entered, it would leave right away, confirming it with the sound of a door shutting behind.
The person with him seemed to relax a bit, finally moving and shuffling away from Hiroshi as they let out a sigh of relief.
Without pause, they went on to push open the closet door, surprising the white-haired boy as he didn't even get to say anything yet. The light filtered through the half open door as Hiroshi held their arm, catching their attention.
Surrounded by light, he could finally catch glimpses of them. Short brown hair that shifted over to a purple tone, with some very tired looking eyes. She looked back at him, annoyed at what the holding was for, so he didn't bother waiting even longer. Blue eyes met brown as he proceeded on to apologize.
"Ah, sorry. For the-"
"It's fine." Interrupted just like that, as she proceeded to pull her arm out of his grasp, jumping down out of the closet. She appeared to be rushing.
Moving towards the door, she pushed on, only to stumble forwards at the last step, just barely avoiding falling by holding onto the handle. Hiroshi swore he heard her curse something under her breath. A realization followed.
Finally getting out himself, he strode over to the stranger, putting himself in-between her and the door, which only soured her mood even further. Before she could say anything though, this time he spoke up.
"You won't be able to run like this." He motioned to her leg, and kept her from leaving the room. The stranger's eyes widened, soon shifting their left leg backwards, obscuring it from further view, only proving his theory.
"It doesn't hurt. Are you gonna let me go now?" The disdain was clear in her voice as she complained.
Noticing that he wasn't about to budge, the stranger reached her arm in an attempt to shove him out of the way, but Hiroshi quickly grabbed it, preventing any further movement.
"You'll certainly die if you go out there. And, I don't want even more people to turn into.. those things, can you understand that?"
He didn't hold back any punches, instead choosing to just let out the truth, hoping it'd somehow scare the stranger into calming down a bit.
More surprisingly, however, it seemed to actually work.
She leaned backwards, pulling back her right hand to cross her arms, now staring up at Hiroshi.
"Fine. What do you want me to do, then?" Her eyes showed very noticeable that she wasn't happy about this at all, but the logic did seem to convince her to stay and listen.
"First, there's two things I need to know; your name, and why would you even come here? You weren't with the group I came in with."
She pondered on it for a few seconds, going quiet before speaking up again.
"It's Y/N." An interesting name. She paused.
She stiffened, thinking on what to say next.
"And.. I heard the rumor, and decided to come here, alright?"
"I see." He fiddled with the glasses on his face, then added. "I'm Hiroshi."
He doesn't know why he expected her to say something like "nice to meet you" or even just offer him a handshake. He was just met with silence as she waited for him to say something.
Hiroshi wasn't one for small talk, and Y/N didn't seem to be cooperating at all. His eyes scanned the person, soon being drawn to the left leg, not hidden anymore, a faint red stain imprinted onto the gray pants.
"How did you hurt your leg?"
"..is this just a questionnaire, now?" Her frown grew wider, still crossing her arms. "And why do you want to know so much?"
"It might help us. We're in a situation where every bit of information is important."
"I.. fell down the stairs, there. Are you happy now?" He didn't seem fully convinced, but decided not to push further, or even say anything.
Hiroshi was quiet. Instead, he turned over to the door, placing his ear close to the wooden frame to check for anything outside. It was silent, too.
Safe outside, he placed a hand to the door knob.
"H-hey, you're just gonna leave me here!? What's up with you?" She raised her voice, confused at the sudden change.
"You'll stay here and hide. I'll try to find an exit." He motioned over to the closet they had previously been in. He spoke, as if attempting to lie to even himself. Convincing himself as if hiding inside a room wasn't how one of his friends had already died.
"Hell no! I'll die to that thing if I stay here, I-" Trailing off, her eyes widened, displaying actual worry in them for the first time since he met her. The idea of being alone again didn't sit quite well with her. "..please." She muttered under her breath.
Y/N held onto Hiroshi's arm, not daring to let go. Gritting her teeth, she stared up at him. He could feel her heartbeat as it grew to absurd levels. Although he didn't know this person, even with her treatment of him, he couldn't just leave a person to die.
"I have no choice here, do I?" Hiroshi sighed. He pushed her away, as their eyes met once again. Her gaze was shaky, unsure of what he'd do.
"You can come with me. But I need you to listen and follow my lead, alright?"
Y/N nodded, stepping back to give him space to open the door. She appeared to have calmed down, thankfully.
The white-haired boy pulled the door open, passing through as he then waited for Y/N to do the same. She hesitated momentarily.
The two had left the room, finally back to exploring the dreaded mansion.
"Oh and." Hiroshi began, catching the attention of Y/N.
"Be mindful of that injury you have. I don't know you, and if worst comes to worst, I'm not coming back to help you, mhm.”
Y/N stared at him as he began moving, but refrained herself from saying anything further.