Chapter Text
Viktor sat at a large conference table alongside Yuri, who was glaring at the other guests and occasionally muttering about how he could ‘solve this case himself.’
The room was bare, with nothing decorating the moss green walls and nothing occupying the large expanse of the room other than the table and those seated around it.
The lack of decoration was a little odd, especially in a home of this size. He would have expected at least the halls leading to the room to have a painting or two, but they were void of that as well; it made the large house seem almost deserted. He hummed at the curiosity, but didn't dwell on it too much as he checked his watch for the time.
A few minutes to go, he thought to himself.
Yuri huffed loudly beside him and pulled out his phone, obviously getting impatient.
Viktor rolled his eyes. They hadn't arrived too far off from the time they were supposed to.
The two had only gotten there a few minutes ago to find the room full of paranormal big shots, some looking like they've been there for an hour or more, while others looked like they had just gotten there, too, judging from the way the were looking at everything curiously.
Seated and waiting for the owner of the impressive estate were Jean-Jacques Leroy, or JJ, creator and star of a ghost hunting show that was popular in North America, as well as his partner, Isabella, and cameraman, Emil.
Next to him were an older woman and her assistant; the woman was a professor at some university or another- Viktor couldn’t be bothered to remember- but he had heard of her: she had taught several lectures on paranormal activity, with much of it focusing on psychometry and mediums.
The last two looked more out of place than even Yuri, but were a well-known and controversial topic within the community: Psychic duo Yuuri Katsuki and Phichit Chulanont.
They both looked much too young to be among paranormal celebrities, and even Yuri was expressing his doubts over their credibility beside him, reading out their accomplished feats from his phone, which was odd in and of itself, as Yuri never took so much interest in another person.
Every now and then, beside him he would whisper things like ‘do you think he actually,’ to the point that Viktor began to ignore him and watched the two from the corner of his eye.
The two were well known as TV psychics, although they seemed to prefer to keep to themselves instead of stepping too far into the community and demonstrating their skills. Even Viktor had his doubts. Sure, everyone had seen Yuuri channel the spirit of a wronged 18th century woman, or cure an odd case of scarlet fever in a child who lived in a house where the family had died from an outbreak, but how much of that was even real?
As for Phichit, everything he spontaneously knew about a person, dead or alive, could have easily been researched before filming and sometimes there weren't any living relatives or friends to confirm any of his claims.
Viktor decided he would take this chance to investigate them as well.
Finally, a woman stepped into the room, dressed in an expensive looking suit, and stood at the head of their table. She had a stern face that had aged to make her look as if it wasn't only her vast years that made her that way. She held her head high and walked with a certain grace that confirmed that she was of some kind of high class. Old money, Viktor thought was probably it. Her hair was in a tight bun, and she wasted no time in diving into the situation.
“Good afternoon. I'm sure you have all read the case file, but to refresh your memory, I have called you all here based on your notoriety and abilities to investigate and stop the odd occurrences that have been happening around the estate.
“Whoever successfully exorcises the spirit that resides here can expect a substantial payment. To start you off, I’d like to address the most concerning happenings: the sitting room on the first floor will become very cold, and one employee had gone in to find that the furniture was piled on top of each other, and all the paintings in the room were flipped.
“Employees who had been housed here would also talk about scratching noises, growling noises, and pounding at night.
“Prior to your arrival, an employee had had a dream of being murdered and cut up and awoke to three slashes across her chest. It was then that we sent everyone away; however, a young man who had broken in with his friends ended up murdering all of them, and the object he used was never recovered, and neither were the bodies.” She paused and scanned the room before continuing.
“These are the occurrences of our household only. Prior to that, the previous owner of the house had shot himself, leaving only a sentence that read ‘Can't get away; they'll get you, too.’ To date, there have been 6 deaths in this house: the product of suicide and murder.
“I want to warn you that this is not a place for the faint of heart. For your own safety, please think hard about your choice to investigate and don't wander out at night. A few of the servants volunteered to return to make sure you were all comfortable, but will leave as soon as the sun sets, so do not expect anything after then. I wish you luck,” she said before she left the room, the sound of her heels following her out.
Naturally, the silence was killed by JJ.
“No problem, we aren't backing out, right guys?!” He called to his team, who nodded hesitantly.
“What are you gonna do, film them to death, dumbass?” Yuri called back, but was promptly ignored as the three left the room. The boy huffed and gave a suspicious look to the remaining two groups.
The two women whispered to one another, then stood and left as well.
“I think we should call Leo and Guang-Hong, Phich. The energy and past of this house is too negative. I want to be on the safe side in case something happens,” he heard Yuuri tell Phichit.
They stood, and Phichit got out his phone and stepped out of the room, already holding it to his ear. Yuuri was about to leave, when he felt Viktor's eyes on him.
Viktor didn't mean to stare, he’d been much more discreet earlier, but when Yuuri stood, Viktor had noticed his clothing: the man wore a traditionally styled kimono that was quite the sight to see on his slim form, along with his rather lovely, if not delicate face. All in all, the man looked enchanting.
The cameras did him absolutely no justice, he thought to himself.
Yuuri smiled politely and made his way over to them.
“Mr. Nikiforov, it's an honor to be working a case with someone as highly regarded as yourself. My name is Yuuri Katsuki and I look forward to seeing you in action,” he introduced himself with a small bow.
“The pleasure is all mine. Your abilities have been of quite some interest to me and I am rather excited to see them,” he said before Yuri shoved him out of the way, sending him stumbling into the table.
“What? No cameras this time?” Yuuri stood, shocked for a few seconds before he gave a nervous laugh.
“Ah… no. I'm afraid I didn't tell Celestino I was taking this case. Phichit and I knew he would have insisted on a whole camera crew and I didn't want to inconvenience anybody or make them uncomfortable,” he said, giving a shy smile. “Actually, Celestino- I'm sorry- our producer, thinks Phichit and I are vacationing in my hometown.”
Yuri scoffed. “So, what, don't want to let him know you're getting money on the side? Does he take a cut or something?”
“No, that's not it. Actually, Phichit and I had been in Japan when Ms. Baranovskaya called us. I wouldn't have taken the job, as I was visiting an old friend who meant quite a lot to me, but she sounded… well she sounded like she really needed our help, so we decided to come out,” he explained. Yuri continued to give him a suspicious look, but seemed to accept his story.
It was then that Phichit stepped back into the room.
“Yuuri, Leo and Guang-Hong said they'd be here tomorrow. They said that they're bringing Otabek, too. For now, do you want to do a walk through?” He asked, eyes shifting between Yuuri and Yuri, curiously.
“Yes, that sounds like a good idea. I can at least see if I can sense anything,” he turned to Viktor and Yuri. “If you'll excuse me,” he said before he moved towards the door.
“I'm coming too!” Yuri shouted, running out into the hall with them.
“Wait! Yura, the equipment!” Viktor called, taking a step forward as Yuri ran out.
The door slammed shut and Viktor let out a huff. He was unloading everything himself, it seemed.
***
Yuri walked alongside the two boys as they travelled from room to room.
Yuuri had already introduced him to Phichit and explained to him that Leo, Guang-Hong, and Otabek were their friends. Leo was an exorcist, despite his young age, and Guang-Hong practiced some sort of psychic technique called onmyodo. Otabek apparently had no abilities, but was very thorough in his research and was usually the muscle in case something happened. Yuri didn't know what that meant, but he didn't bother to ask about that.
He said that they needed them because aside from his ability to see and talk to spirits and some binding and warding magic, he couldn't really get rid of any spirits that didn't want to leave, and he thought they might encounter some here.
“I’ve never seen them on the show, though. Do they work with you a lot?” Yuri asked, regarding Yuuri with a suspicious look.
“Well, yes, but they’re camera shy, and Leo actually shouldn’t be doing exorcisms so freely, so he prefers if there’s no evidence. Also, Celestino decided that the audiences shouldn't know about Otabek, since he does most of the research, they might think that Phichit and I don’t actually have any abilities,” Yuuri clarified, further confusing Yuri.
“Why can’t he do exorcisms when he wants? Also, what do you need that Otabek guy for?”
“Well, in order to do an exorcism, Leo actually needs permission from the church, but for them to allow him they need quite a bit of evidence, and sometimes we don't have that much time. Doing it without permission could get him excommunicated,” Phichit filled in this time.
Yuuri nodded along.
“And that’s bad?” Yuri asked, never having been too religious himself.
“Very bad,” Phichit said, opening a door to find a restroom. He nodded his head at Yuuri, causing the man to shake his head and laugh.
“As for Otabek, he’s very adept. We need him for things that we can't see, like floor plans, and the house’s full history. Often, we can only see the more tragic, or emotional events of a home, but that won’t tell us when a haunting started, the full name of a person, or something else we're missing. Also, if there's nothing Phichit can touch that belonged to the spirit currently residing, we’re usually stuck.”
Yuri hummed in understanding and looked around.
They’d already made it a good ways into the house, having passed from the conference rooms, through the kitchen, dining room, a few other rooms, and the restroom Phichit tried to get Yuuri to walkthrough.
“Have you sensed anything yet?” He asked, a little bored at the lack of activity.
“When we first came in… I felt a sort of foreboding, but now… it's odd. There's something here, but it feels like it's trying to hide from me,” he said as they all stepped into the sitting room.
“Maybe after it gets a little more used to us being here it'll reveal itse-” Yuuri fell to his knees, a hand over his mouth and another over his stomach.
“Yuuri!” Phichit cried, falling to his side. “Hey, are you okay?! What's wrong?”
“So much blood. It smells so strong. Blood and decay,” he said, trembling, eyes staring into the wooden floor. Yuri took a small step back, looking around the room, but not finding a single trace of what would have made Yuuri react like that.
The room was almost spotless, only containing two couches, a few paintings, a coffee table, and an old grandfather clock in the corner. His attention was drawn back to Yuuri when he spoke again, a slight quake in his voice.
“Phichit, Yuri, never come into this room alone. This room- there's so much negative energy and malicious intent. This is the center of it all. I don't know what happened here, but this is where it started.”
Yuri stared on in confusion as Yuuri tried to recollect himself, although his face looked clearly strained. Sure, he'd seen him on his show when he would freeze as he sensed something, maybe even collapse, but he looked downright sick. He'd gone paler, if not a little green, and his eyes looked tired.
“A-are you okay?”
Yuuri smiled weakly. “Don't worry, Yuri. I just happen to be more sensitive when it comes to these things and I get a little overwhelmed. I'll be fine,” he responded with a small smile as Phichit helped him to the door.
Yuri turned to follow them out, when a distant scream pulled him away from the current scene and into a hazy, dream-like place.
***
Yuuri was in the center of the room, alone, the furniture was thrown aside, with the exception of the old clock that remained in the corner. He was mumbling some chant, and there was something seeping from the center of the room until the floor crumbled inward. Yuuri didn't stop his chanting, in fact, he became a little louder.
Yuri flinched when an arm reached out of the gaping hole in the room. Then another. Then another, and up with them came corpses.
Suddenly, Yuri was overwhelmed by a scent that could have only been what Yuuri had described earlier as blood and decay. It made his stomach lurch as the scene carried on, and he found himself unable to wake up.
The bodies dragged themselves towards Yuuri, who didn't move or run, but switched to a prayer.
Yuri tried to shout for him to get out, but no sound came out. There was a loud pounding against the walls and the vases and windows in the room shattered just as the grandfather clock in the corner gave three loud chimes.
Yuuri stopped, taking a shaky step backwards, then another until he was at the door, but it wouldn't open.
Yuri couldn't move or do a single thing as shadows peeled off the walls and wrapped themselves around Yuuri just as he let out that terrified cry. Voices could be heard outside the room calling for him.
The shadows plastered themselves over his mouth and the corpses grabbed him by his ankles and pulled him back into the hole. The banging continued throughout, until the floor repaired itself, casing Yuuri in, and Viktor burst into the room with Phichit and people Yuri didn't recognize behind them.
Not a thing looked out of place when they stepped in, and Yuuri couldn't be seen or heard.
***
Yuri was brought back to reality by the clock in the corner chiming. He flinched and looked up to find Yuuri and Phichit waiting for him.
“Yuri? Come on, I don't want you alone in here,” Yuuri said, waiting by the door, safe and sound. His brow furrowed, and he stepped towards Yuri.
“Are you alright? You're shaking.”
“I'm fine. It just got cold in here like the old lady said it would,” he mumbled, leaving the room.
Phichit snorted. “‘Old lady.’ I bet she'd kill you herself if she heard you say that. She does look pretty old, though. What do you think, Yuuri? She must be at least early hundreds,” he said nudging the Japanese man who shook his head disapprovingly.
“We are guests in her home. You should show a little more respect,” he chastised.
“Yeah, her murder horror home. We wouldn't be invited here, ever if this place weren't messed up.”
Yuri tuned them out, unable to get what he just saw out of his head. Every time he saw Yuuri's face, it was replaced by flashes of his fearful expression as he was dragged down. He felt horrible and guilty. He couldn't save him. He just watched as he was dragged away. Why would he see something like that?
He by no means hated Yuuri, he actually thought he was kind of cool, although he would never admit that to anyone, especially not Vikor. The man would tease him endlessly. Anyway, what he saw was definitely not something he wished upon Yuuri, or even that dumbass, JJ. The whole thing just made him uncomfortable.
“I'm… going to go help the old man with the equipment. Wouldn't want him to break a hip or something,” he said, awkwardly, turning to walk away.
“We'll walk you. I don't think you should be alone in here,” Yuuri said, walking after him.
“I'm not a kid! I can go to him on my own!” He yelled back, startling him.
“O-okay, but can you remember something for me?” Yuri hesitated, but nodded. “Okay, it's a warding spell. It's called the 9 cuts and it'll keep away spirits, but after you use it, I want you to run the other way. I want you to find me, Viktor, Phichit, or any of our other friends that are coming tomorrow. You won't be strong enough to subdue them, maybe just stun them.” Yuuri held out two fingers and made a horizontal swipe.
“Horizontal first. Move your arm like this and say ‘rin.’ Next, you'll have to move vertically, up to down, and say ‘Pyo.’ Next, horizontal again, then vertical and I'm sure you understand the pattern. You need to push out your energy with the spell. It goes ‘rin, pyo, tou, sha, kai, jin, retsu, zai, zen.’ Only use this on spirits, Yuri. You can seriously injure someone if you use it on them.”
Yuri nodded slowly and made the movements for the first two. “Rin, pyo, tou, sha, kai, jin, retsu, zai, zen?” He said uncertainly.
Yuuri nodded and smiled back. “You're a fast learner. I'm sure you'll be fine. Thank you for keeping us company, Yuri,” he said as Yuri turned and ran down the hall to look for Viktor.
***
Viktor was almost done unpacking their equipment when Yuri showed up, out of breath and looking like he'd run a marathon.
“You okay, Yura?” He asked, quickly putting down the camera he'd been holding and taking a step towards Yuri. “Did something happen?”
Yuri shook his head quietly and picked up the camera. “What room are we putting this in?”
Viktor hesitated. “Are you sure you don't want to sit down?”
“I'm fine. What room are we setting up base in?” He asked, irritation creeping into his voice.
Viktor hesitated, but picked up a monitor and signalled for Yuri to follow him.
They wound their way to a room that was empty with the exception of a table and Viktor's equipment.
“Was it Yuuri?” Viktor asked, startling Yuri and almost making him drop the camera.
“Was what Yuuri?” He asked, turning away.
“The reason you're acting like this. Did Yuuri do something to you?” Viktor asked, voice hardened.
“Don't be stupid, old man. That guy couldn't hurt a fly. He even taught me how to protect myself,” he muttered, leaving the room.
Viktor quickly followed, running to catch up. “What do you mean? What did he teach you?”
Yuri shrugged. “He called it the 9 cuts. He told me not to use it on people, though.”
“He taught him warding magic…” Viktor mumbled to himself. “Does he think this place is that dangerous? What happened while you were with him?”
“Why are you asking so many damn questions?!” Yuri yelled back, stopping in the middle of the hallway. “Yeah, okay? He said this place had a strong negative energy and he fell over in the sitting room because he smelled blood and decay or some shit. He told me not to walk around alone and then he taught me that thing.”
Viktor was quiet for a few seconds before nodding and continuing down the hall.
He'd look further into this later, maybe ask Yuri a few more questions.