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Even in the middle of downtown Tokyo, there was something magical about autumn leaves. The setting sun cast the trees in shades of golden orange and crimson, making them glow almost as brightly as the street lights that were beginning to flicker on.
Renji took a slow draw from his thermos of coffee, only frowning slightly when it made the lenses of his sunglasses fog up. Beside him, Itori kicked through dead leaves as she babbled about her day at the bar.
“---and this asshole still wouldn’t pay his tab!” she fumed.
Renji hummed, only half listening. “So what’d you do about it?”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Itori staring at him expectantly. “Nothing, yet. I was hoping I could get you or Uta to help me out with this one?”
Of course, Renji sighed. He opened his mouth to say no, but quickly realized she was giving him her notorious Puppy Eyes .
“You may discuss that with Uta. I did it last time, so it’s his turn.”
“ Aw , c’mon Ren! You know Uta’s been busy with other stuff lately; he won’t have time for it!” she whined. They came to a stop outside a large manor house that sat on an empty lot on the edge of the fourth ward—the “other stuff” Uta had been busy with for the past three and a half weeks.
See, it was no surprise to anyone that Uta adored Halloween. He looked forward to it each year more than his own birthday. And when he had the opportunity to help out with the fourth’s annual haunted house…who was Renji to say no?
Renji leaned against the streetlight, taking another sip of coffee. “We’ll see,” he said.
Itori sighed dramatically. “I guess .” She squinted up at the house, lips pursed. “At least he seems to be having fun and getting out of the house.”
“That’s true,” Renji snorted. “He’s been staying out pretty late every night, but he’s always hyped up whenever he gets home. That’s a good sign, right?”
“That’s he’s excited? Obviously,” Itori said with a grin. “This is the most serious he’s been about anything—besides you—in a while.” She stilled suddenly, gaze landing on something behind Renji. He raised an eyebrow at her (oddly) devious smile.
“She isn’t wrong, you know,” came a voice from above him.
Renji blinked, only vaguely surprised, when Uta appeared directly in front of him–upside down, splattered with something scarlet. His eyes shone expectantly.
It was…adorable, more than anything.
Renji smiled, and all at once Uta’s face collapsed into a frown.
“Did that really not scare you?” he whined.
Renji pulled off his sunglasses. “It takes more than that to get to me, and you know it.”
“Not even the fake blood?”
“Considering I’ve seen you covered in real blood…no.”
Uta sighed heavily as Renji stepped back to get a better look at him. He had wrapped a strand of his kagune around the top of the streetlamp and was hanging from it— like a monkey using its tail , Renji thought amusedly. Before his eyes, Uta released his kagune and landed primly on his feet in one swift motion. He glared at Renji, lower lip jutting out in a pout.
Said pout quickly vanished when Renji handed him the coffee he’d brought.
“You look like you’ve had a good time,” Itori remarked with a smirk. “How’d it go today?”
Uta gulped down the remaining contents of the thermos and sighed happily. “Really well, actually. I got to sit down and talk to the costumer for the first time, and she seemed just as excited about my ideas as I am!” He was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet, abuzz with childlike excitement. Renji chuckled and ruffled his hair as they began the walk toward home.
“You guys should stop by once we open,” Uta continued. “Things are coming along so well…” he paused, smirking, “that we may be able to scare even you , Ren.”
(In hindsight, Renji knows he should’ve kept his mouth shut. He knew that the moment he opened his mouth there wouldn’t be any going back. Still, he had already fallen into a familiar rhythm of banter with his husband, and it just…slipped out.)
“I doubt it.”
He froze, realizing what he’d said, but it was too late. Uta grinned up at him, eyes aglow with sadistic playfulness, brow raised. (From cute to terrifying in no less than a second. Sheesh.) “Do you now? Would you care to wager on that, dearest?”
Renji gulped. No backing out now.
“Sure,” he replied levelly. “Why not?”
Uta’s laugh was borderline sinister. “Alright, then! How about this: if any of us actors catch you getting scared at any point, you owe me one favor. Sound good?”
“Okay, but what if I win?”
“Then I’ll owe you a favor, of course!”
Renji mulled it over. All in all, it wasn’t a bad deal. He just had to act completely unafraid, right? That was easy. He did that every day. Besides, it wasn’t inherently serious or anything—other than the multitude of things they could make each other do with that favor.
Really, how bad could it be?
“I’ll take that bet,” he said finally, extending a hand.
Uta’s smirk broadened as he clasped Renji’s hand and shook it–only to be wiped off his face when Renji pulled him into a kiss.
“I feel like I’ve said this before, but get a room, you two. ”
They quickly separated before they could even really get started, faces flaring matching shades of red. Itori rolled her eyes jokingly.
“Can’t say I’m too irritated, though, considering you guys are about to give me the entertainment of the century . Good luck to both of you!”
She took off running down the sidewalk. As they trailed behind her, Renji licked his lips; Uta watched as his expression soured.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“I almost wish that stuff was real blood. It’d taste a lot better that way.”
His one consolation, Renji supposed, was that he didn’t have to endure this alone.
“Thank you so much for watching her on such short notice!” Ken gushed, watching as Mutsuki lifted Ichika into his arms.
Mutsuki smiled, and Renji was pleased to see that his hair was finally (mostly) green again. “I’m happy to help! If I may ask, though, where’s everyone going?”
His gaze wandered to the group gathered down the sidewalk in front of his house: Ken and Touka, whom were promising their daughter they’d be back shortly; Renji, with Itori close at his side; Ayato listening to Hinami speculate as to what they’d be walking into; Nishiki and Kimi standing arm-in-arm; and Hide, who was clearly grinning despite the mask obscuring his face.
“Uta’s working at the haunted house in the fourth, and all of us wanted to go,” Touka explained with a chuckle.
Mutsuki’s eyes lit up. “Cool! Let me know how it turns out, would you? Saiko’s been talking about that place since they started advertising it, although I think she actually wants to go on Halloween night.”
“We will,” Ken promised. “For now we’d better get going before it gets much later.”
Mutsuki wished them all luck as Ken and Touka said goodbye to Ichika and the group set off down the sidewalk.
No one seemed to mind the October chill in the air as they strolled down the street under the darkening sky. Here and there Renji caught snippets of cheerful conversation about their impending adventure as he tried to quell the anxiety rising in his gut.
It wasn’t that he wasn’t excited—Uta had been working so hard on this, after all, and his excitement was practically contagious. That was the fun of haunted houses, wasn’t it? They were thrilling and anxiety-inducing. (Was it really as scary as Uta had claimed? Just how much panic would he have to hide?)
Renji nearly scoffed at his own distress. All he had to do was pretend he was fine—he did that every day. Why did this rattle him so much?
“You ready for this?”
He jumped as Itori appeared beside him. Her smirk was borderline dangerous.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Renji asked, rolling his eyes.
“ Because ,” she singsonged, “I happen to know both you and Uta take your bets very seriously.”
Renji opened his mouth to brush her off, but was interrupted by a familiar mechanical voice. “Does someone have a bet going?”
Hide peeked around Itori’s other side, arms crossed behind his head and eyes bright with interest. It was then Renji realized just how quiet everyone else had gotten. Ahead of them, Ken and Touka had slowed down and were watching them out of the corners of their eyes. That, combined with the gazes he felt on the back of his head, caused his apprehension to increase tenfold.
Shit .
“It’s not—” he began.
“Y’all know how Uta’s working at this haunted house? Well, he bet Renji here that it’s gonna be scary enough to scare even him . If Renji loses, he owes Uta a favor!” Itori explained cheerfully.
It was all Renji could do not to strangle her as the entire group winced in unison and muttered their condolences.
“But…it’s just one favor, right? Surely it can’t be that bad,” Kimi said kindly, and everyone’s eyes left Renji in favor of staring at her and arguing that Uta was devious , and that Renji should be very afraid.
Renji sighed, tuning out their attempts at being supportive.
The rest of the walk went quickly after that, and soon the house loomed in the above them. Renji had to admit: in the dark, covered in decorations and dimly lit, it looked like an ideal haunted locale.
Renji’s stomach flipped, but he had to admit that the excitement in the air was contagious. Itori was beside him again, bouncing up and down with an eager grin. The others’ excited whispers buzzed around him.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.
Chains painted to look rusty were draped over the banister on the front porch. A hand painted wooden sign hung from them: Enter if you dare! 50 ¥ per guest and an arrow directing them around the side of the building.
The entire group glanced at the alley in unison.
“Sure looks dark over there,” Hide commented quietly.
It was dark over there. Renji swallowed his apprehension and rolled his eyes. “We’ve fought actual monsters,” he said sternly. “This is nothing.”
Even so, the others seemed to have no issue letting him go first. Thankfully, there was no preemptive jumpscare waiting on them; just a woman in vampire makeup standing beside a small table of brochures.
“Ooh, our largest group yet!” she exclaimed when she saw them. “Welcome! How are you lovely folks this evening?”
“We’re doing great,” Ken piped up cheerfully. “Ready to be scared, hopefully.”
The vampire laughed. “I’d sure hope so,” she said ominously. “Anyway, it’ll be four hundred and fifty–”
Her gaze fell on Renji, and she stopped short. “Hang on. Do you happen to be Uta’s husband?”
Renji blinked. “Yeah, actually,” he replied.
Her face split into a wide smile—which was unsettling, because her lips and teeth were smeared with fake blood. “Why didn’t you say so? He told us you’d be coming, and he already covered all your group’s fees!”
Itori must’ve seen the surprise on Renji’s face, because she jumped in to continue the interaction. “That’s awesome! We’ll totally have to thank him later,” she gushed.
The vampire nodded enthusiastically. “And you must be Itori! Man, he’s told us so much about you two.” She looked at Renji again. “He really loves you. And he’s also really excited about this bet.”
Renji blushed, nodding stiffly.
His obvious embarrassment caused her to giggle. “Sorry, I’ll let it go.” She grabbed the stack of brochures from the table and handed one to each of them. “What y'all are gonna do is head down this way to the garage and wait until you’re let inside. Have a spooky time!”
Distantly, Renji heard the group laughing and realized his feet were moving, but he was too focused on his brochure to care.
Scariest haunted house in Tokyo, huh? He’d see about that.
Touka had to tap him on the shoulder to keep him from walking into the small door set into the side of the garage. “Let me guess,” she said with a smirk. “You’re not nervous at all, right?”
The jab was obvious, but Renji ignored it all the same. “What’s there to be nervous about? Not like any of it’s real.”
Touka patted him knowingly on the shoulder.
At least he wasn’t the only one that was antsy. Hide and Kaneki were chattering away louder than usual, with Touka listening in and occasionally commenting. Kimi was clinging to Nishiki’s hand while he quietly reassured that she would be fine. Hinami wrung her sweater and listened to Ayato complain about the fact that they had to wait.
The only one who didn’t really seem afraid was Itori. She bounced on the balls of her feet, eyes glinting in the low light. She perked up when she realized Renji was looking at her and gave him a small smile.
“Relax, Ren. Try to have fun, okay?” she whispered.
The first encouraging words he’d heard all night. Renji smiled and nodded.
The door swung open abruptly, and standing before them was an actor in the creepiest mad scientist costume Renji had ever seen. The makeup was impeccable, making him look as though he hadn’t slept in days. His lab coat was covered in strangely convincing stains.
“Oh, visitors! I’m so sorry, I must not have heard you knock. Please do come in….”
And just like that, the tour had begun.
The floorboards creaked under Renji’s feet as he stepped inside and only got louder as everyone else followed. The room around them was bathed in shadow, lit by a single flickering bulb that dangled from a fraying string.
It was more than they needed, though.
The space was crowded with tables, all covered in “bloodied” instruments and notebooks with nonsense scribbled into them. An operating table sat in the far corner, and Renji couldn’t tell whether it was occupied by a mannequin or another person. He took note of the shackles binding whatever it was to the table and suddenly had an idea of what the next big scare would be.
The half of Renji’s brain that wasn’t immensely unsettled was impressed with the effort that went into this. What was once the garage had been sectioned off by painted canvas walls, so that they were only standing in one particular area. It was a large space, but the set and lights managed to make everything seem much more confined.
He hoped the rest of the tour wouldn’t be like this.
Ken, Hinami, and Kimi practically jumped out of their skins when the actor closed the door behind them with a loud slam . He chuckled. “Apologies, I’ve been a bit jumpy as of late. My… experiment hasn’t been going quite as planned.”
The lights abruptly went out above them. Chains began to rattle in the corner as a near unearthly scream filled the air, followed by the frenzied laughter of the scientist. Renji tensed as someone grabbed his arm, but quickly realized it was Itori. Someone behind them-–Nishiki, maybe—shouted. A light flicked on over a narrow doorway in the corner opposite the “experiment.”
Renji took a breath to calm his anxiety and carefully let the rest of the group dash past him before allowing Itori to drag him to the exit.
They emerged into a hallway so narrow that they could only go one at a time comfortably. All at once, the clamor behind them was silent.
Ken, as always, was the first to break the tension.
“See? So far so good, right?” he said jokingly.
A few people responded with breathless chuckles. Even Renji smiled, watching as Touka stepped up and took Ken’s hand.
“C’mon, guys! We’re ghouls—we’ve seen worse than anything some tourist attraction can throw at us,” she said.
This is ridiculous.
“Yeah!” Renji cheered in unison with the rest of the group.
They set off down the hall, single file with Touka in the front and Renji trailing at the back. Up close it was easier than ever to see that the walls were just painted set pieces plastered with fake spiderwebs, but the claustrophobia they caused was very real.
Several tense minutes later, at the end of the silent, winding hallway, they reached another door. Ken hesitantly reached to open it, but any anxiety dispersed at the gust of fresh air that flooded the hall. Everyone spilled out as one mass, brushing the dust off their jackets.
Renji’s breath caught when he finally looked up. There was a small stretch of dirt between the garage and the main house—the majority of which was covered in a sea of jack-o-lanterns. There had to be at least a hundred of them, each a different size and shape with a different face carved on its front. The candles inside them cast a haunting orange glow over the single path through their center.
Hide spoke on behalf of the entire group: “Wow.”
Nishiki snickered. “It’s impressive, but…” he gestured to the sign that read Enter the pumpkin patch at your own risk! “A little cheesy, don’t you think?”
“Who cares?” Kimi scoffed, playfully smacking his arm. “It’s beautiful.”
“Mhm.” Renji hadn’t even noticed Itori sidling up to him until now. “Speaking of, you seeing what I’m seeing?” She pointed to a cluster of pumpkins just a few feet away, and immediately Renji knew what she meant: the lines in the carving were impossibly smooth, made with all the confidence of someone skilled with both pen and blade. One of them had a bird carved in the center, wings spread as if in flight.
“Oh,” he laughed. “Yeah. I see what you mean.”
Itori grinned, sliding her arm through his. “Shall we?”
It was more demand than request, but Renji found he didn’t really care. Her arm was sturdy around his as she tugged him down the center of the path. The back of the house seemed to stare down at them.
Bring it, Renji thought. This is gonna be fun .
“You think this is, like, intermission?” Itori asked brightly. “A calm moment in between one house of horrors and ano—”
“What the hell is that?” Ayato yelled.
“Spoke too soon.” Renji spun, dragging Itori with him. Rising up from the sea of pumpkins was…another pumpkin? A leering smile was painted on its massive face, arms like vines snaking over the patch, growing closer….
“How the fuck—?” Renji started, only for Itori to—yet again—start physically dragging him down the path.
“Don’t know, don’t care. We’re taking our chances inside!”
They stumbled up to the porch and Itori lunged for the doorknob. With a soft creak, the door swung open and everyone piled inside.
“Okay,” Ken panted once the door closed. “Everyone here? Sound off.”
“Right here,” Touka muttered.
“Me too!” Hinami chimed.
“Me three!” Hide confirmed.
“Unfortunately,” Ayato added.
“Here,” Kimi said shakily.
“Present,” Nishiki huffed.
“And Ren and I are up here,” Itori declared.
“Alright,” Ken sighed. “Where are we now?”
Good question. If Renji had to guess he would say this is the house’s parlor, but it was hard to tell when everything was covered in….
Renji’s blood ran cold.
Webs.
He had a horrible feeling that he knew where this was going, and if he was right, Uta was so. Fucking. Dead.
“Looks like there’s only one way forward,” Itori commented, nodding toward what almost looked like a tunnel under all the webs. “Better get—Renji?”
She tugged on his arm again, and his feet stayed planted.
“Honey,” her voice (tone something between amused and concerned) dropped lower, so no one else could hear. “It’s not real, remember? Uta wouldn’t let them put any actual spiders in here, knowing how much you hate them. Take a breath, alright?”
“Everything okay?” Hide called from somewhere behind them.
“Fine,” Renji yelped. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Fine. Let’s go.”
Itori grinned, teeth aglow in the blacklights. “Atta boy.”
She took his hand again and they started forward.
The tunnel was bigger than the space back in the garage, but it certainly felt smaller—there was absolutely no way Renji was touching the web-walls, even if they were fake. He fought back a shudder as Itori willingly ran her hand along one.
“Just cotton,” she reported cheerfully.
“Ayato, you’re squeezing my hand really tight,” came Hinami’s voice.
“Sorry,” Ayato replied gruffly.
“...you still aren’t letting go.”
“I know. That’s why I’m sorry.”
Touka laughed, and Renji had to bite back a smile.
Something scuttled behind one of the cobwebs, and the joy that was beginning to grow in his chest withered into nothing.
“What was that?” Kimi squeaked.
More scuttling. Renji tried to swallow, but his mouth was dry. A shadow passed over them.
“What…was that?” Ken croaked.
“Don’t know, don’t wanna find out!” Itori declared. She was squeezing Renji’s arm again, guiding him down the corridor before his head was done spinning. His feet stumbled to keep up, and distantly he thought about how embarrassing this would be to look back on—the same ghoul who survived the White Reaper twice, afraid of a few spiders.
His one defense was that he wouldn’t let it show on his face.
A loose board on the floor seemed to tip the world sideways, the only thing keeping him up being Itori’s arm. She yanked him up rather roughly. “Unless you can do it while you run, now is not the time to be disassociating!”
“Sorry,” he hissed, reality snapping back into place. The tunnel opened out into the next room just ahead. Renji was in the middle of silently thanking every deity in existence when a pair of fucking legs curled around the top of the tunnel.
He was pretty sure he blacked out then, because the next thing he knew they were in a brightly-lit parlor and someone was slapping his face. Renji jerked back with a hiss, and Touka sighed, relieved.
“He’s back,” she announced.
His brow furrowed. “Did I go somewhere?”
She rolled her eyes. “You tell us. We called your name like, five times. You were just staring into space and looking sort of like you wanted to puke.”
“Oh.” Renji felt his face heat up.
“Relax,” Touka laughed. “I think Ayato actually pissed himself a little.”
“I did not!” Ayato snarled, though his shaking hand was still clinging to Hinami’s like his life depended on it.
“Whatever, you two,” Hide interjected. “You okay, man?”
“Yeah,” he sighed. “Where are we now?”
“The spider room is on the other side of that door,” Ken explained. “You zoned out for maybe two minutes.”
That was a relief, Renji supposed. He nodded, glancing at the door on the other end of the room. “I’m guessing that’s the only way out?”
“Unless you wanna get a better look at the spider animatronic out there?” Itori grinned, raising an eyebrow. “Yep.”
Renji blinked away the lightheadedness and nodded. It occurred to him that he hadn’t actually gotten a good look at the room they stood in. The first thing that caught his attention was the dozens of pairs of eyes staring at them.
Dolls, and a lot of them.
Itori lingered against one wall, picking one up—an old baby doll with dull blue eyes—and holding it protectively. “Think they’d notice if I kept this one?” she grinned.
“Probably,” Hinami commented, and Renji buried his face in his hands. He wasn’t sure if it was his family or Uta’s passion project, but he felt he was going to lose it if things went on this way.
Good thing there were still probably a few rooms to go, right?
“We’re gonna go on ahead,” Nishiki said after a moment, sliding his arm around Kimi’s waist. “Try not to fall too far behind, losers —ack! Okay, okay, sorry!” Kimi smirked triumphantly as Nishiki clutched his side where she elbowed him.
“See you guys outside!” she said cheerfully, leading her boyfriend from the room. All Renji caught before the door swung shut again was a staircase leading up.
Renji took a breath, rubbing at his eyes and struggling to get his bearings on a thought process that was ready to spiral out of his control.
“Having fun yet?” Itori asked. Her tone was light, teasing, but there was an undertone of worry—her way of indirectly saying “I’ll find us an out if you need one.”
That was probably the weirdest part: he was having fun. It was the anxiety-inducing kind of fun, sure, the kind that left you high on adrenaline for hours afterwards, but….
“Yes, actually.”
She raised an eyebrow, but her smile widened. “Really?”
“Mhm.”
“Good.” She swept into a bow, gesturing to the door. “Ready, folks?”
“God help us,” Ayato muttered, eliciting a few giggles from the crowd. Touka secured a protective arm around Ken’s waist. Hide cracked his knuckles dramatically.
As they led the way from the room and up the stairs, Renji decided to confirm. “Hey, Tori?”
“Yeah?”
“I think I’m losing my mind for liking this?”
Her eyes cut toward him in the dark, wide and vaguely unsettled. Her laugh seemed to fit right in with the interior of the dark, creepy stairwell. “Hate to break it to ya, but…welcome to the club.”
He found himself grinning, too.
The next few rooms went surprisingly well—if that’s the right word to describe it, anyway. There was a crime scene where the murderer lingered behind a fake tree with a real chainsaw (Hide’s robotic scream was particularly memorable) and a room lined with coffins that three vampires jumped out of (must’ve been where Uta got his fake blood makeup).
By the time they reached the stairs on the other side of the house, laughter was beginning to come easier. Renji realized amusedly that a life of fighting for their lives had likely turned them all into adrenaline junkies. This feeling was certainly familiar in the best of ways.
One last stop…enjoy the show! the sign on the banister read.
“What do you think?” Touka asked. “Scarier than the others, or no?”
“Who knows?” Ken sighed. “Let’s just get it over with.”
“There is still someone we haven’t seen,” Itori quipped, nudging Renji with her elbow. A nervous smile tugged at his lips. It was embarrassing, really—it didn’t matter how long they’d been married for, other people’s teasing always made him blush.
“Did he ever tell you what his act was?” Hinami asked.
“Nope,” Renji sighed. “Every time I asked he made some excuse about not wanting to spoil anything and changed the subject.”
“Sounds like Uta,” Ayato remarked..
“So we have no clue what we’re walking into?” Hide’s voice crackled.
“Nope.” Renji rolled his shoulders. “Let’s do this.”
He paused at the edge of the first step and glanced back. Everyone else stared at him expectantly. “Guess I’m going first,” he rolled his eyes and started down.
A chill ran down his back as the ground came into view. The wall had been transformed into a clown, the door the centerpiece of his gaping, rictus grin. Heavy velvet curtains obscured the next room from view.
“Well well,” Itori chuckled. “Can’t say I’d expect anything less from him.”
Renji might’ve been shaking (though he wasn’t sure why). “Mhm.”
Itori noticed. Of course she did. Her fingers laced through his as she squeezed his hand. “Showtime?”
Renji nodded. Steeling himself, he braced the curtain with his arm and brushed it aside.
The walls of the front foyer were painted red and white, splattered with something darker red. The floor was strewn with straw and chains and small multicolored balls—the kind used for juggling? Renji didn’t know or care, more focused on the actors than anything.
They stood scattered around the room: a pair of them were juggling, one was attempting to clean up the floor, and one was just rocking and laughing to herself in the corner. Their costumes were torn and filthy, chains rattling around their feet whenever they attempted to move too far.
“Save us!” they wailed, faces smeared with dirt and blood. “He’s crazy!”
The girl in the corner just kept laughing.
Somewhere behind him, Hinami yelped. Renji unknowingly took a step back…right into someone’s waiting hands.
“So sorry about them, ladies and gentlemen,” growled a voice at his side. “You know how the freaks get when they aren’t fed.”
Renji couldn’t help it: he jolted, staggering forward and whirling around. A familiar face grinned at him with unnaturally sharp teeth and wide red eyes. Blood (fake blood, Renji’s brain supplied helpfully) dripped from crimson lips onto a red and black suit already stained with it.
The ringmaster spread his arms grandly. “We truly hope you enjoyed the show this evening. You’ll find the exit just ahead…unless, of course, you’d like to stay and join my circus. We have plenty of roles available to be filled, if you’re interested.”
Touka spoke for all of them: “Nope!”
Then they were sprinting for the exit, Renji once again getting dragged along by Itori. The last glimpse he saw of the haunted house was the ringmaster’s giddy expression as the door fell shut.
Itori whooped loudly, laughing as she slumped against Renji’s side. Icy October air flooded Renji’s lungs with each pant for breath—odd, considering he wasn’t really winded.
His heart pounded, though, blood rushing in his ears. His cheeks ached a little, and it took him a second to understand that it was because he was grinning.
“Okay,” Ayato admitted, also panting. “That…was pretty fun.”
“It was so cool!” Hide exclaimed, brushing a hand through his hair. “I think I’m still shaking!”
“Yeah…” Hinami agreed shakily. She was laughing, too, covering her mouth to stifle giggles.
“How long did you say Uta and the others have been working on that? Because wow,” Ken gushed.
Renji thought about it, sighing contently. “Since mid-September, so...five weeks? Maybe six?”
“Damn,” Touka grinned. “Tell him from us that it was amazing.”
Renji nodded. “You two going to get Ichika?”
“Yep. It’ll be bedtime pretty soon.” She took Ken’s hand, smiling softly.
Ken waved. “That was…wow,” he said again. “But yeah, we have to go. Coming, Hide?”
“Right behind ya. Think Nishiki and Kimi have already left?”
“Knowing them? Yes,” Ayato snorted. “Ready to go, Hina?”
“I guess,” Hinami replied. “Dunno if I’ll actually sleep after that, but….”
Ayato blushed. “You and me both,” he admitted nervously. “But it’ll be fine. Let’s get home.”
“I’ll text Kimi when we get back. Y’know, to make sure she and her idiot are okay,” Touka said with a shrug. She leaned up to place a quick kiss on Ken’s cheek—and shoved Hide away when he leaned in for one, too. “Seriously,” she laughed. “Bye, guys. Let us know how that bet works out, Yomo.”
“Bye!” Itori chimed—Renji was too busy trying not to get too flustered. When the other four were just specks under distant streetlights, he turned to Itori.
“Need me to walk you home or anything?” he asked.
“Where would that leave you?” she replied pointedly.
Renji shrugged. “Was just gonna wait for him to get out. I have no idea when that’ll be, but….”
Itori smiled. “I’ll stay with ya. Wouldn’t wanna leave you out here all by yourself.”
“That’s surprisingly nice of—”
“And I wanna see how the bet gets settled, of course!”
Renji sighed heavily. Moment ruined. “Of course.”
It was two hours later—at around midnight—that the lights went out in the haunted house’s windows. Renji and Itori perked up from where they’d been sitting on a wall under a streetlamp, watching as a handful of people poured from the front door. Unlike the tour groups, these weren’t exactly laughing or screaming—quite the opposite, as Renji heard excited discussion and promises to see each other tomorrow night.
Renji felt his heart start to race as one of the figures broke away from the others, waving goodbye and starting in their direction. He was visibly startled when he saw Renji and Itori…and then he broke into a run.
Renji smiled, getting to his feet just in time for Uta to plow into his arms and nearly knock him over.
“Hey there,” he laughed, holding him as close as possible.
“Hi,” Uta giggled, nuzzling his face into the crook of Renji’s neck. “Missed you.”
“How?” Renji murmured. “You just saw me.”
“Seeing you in character is different. I didn’t get to say how happy I was to see you.”
“Ah.” Renji slowly let him go, allowing him to regain his balance before taking a good look at his face. Uta beamed at him, traces of makeup still smudged around the corners of his lips and eyes. The urge to kiss it all away welled up with startling intensity—the only thing that kept Renji from doing it then and there was Itori, still standing behind him.
“Good to see you too,” she said sarcastically. “Where’s my hug?”
“Sorry, Tori,” Uta laughed, setting his duffle bag on the ground and opening his arms. A sleeve poked out the top of it—red smudged with fake blood and dirt. Renji hoisted the bag over his shoulder as Itori finally let Uta go.
“So,” he said. “Home?”
“Home,” Uta agreed. He grinned as Itori grabbed his hand and tugged him down the sidewalk.
Home, Renji thought affectionately, following.
Of course, it was only natural that Uta would bring up the unpleasant things when Renji had almost forgotten about them. The last he’d thought of the bet was as they dropped Itori off: “You’d better tell me what happens! No skipping out on the gory details! I fucking mean it, you two!”
“I haven’t forgotten about our little wager, you know.”
Renji tensed up. Of course it got brought up now, when he was nearly asleep and comfortably cuddled with his husband on the couch.
“I figured,” he muttered. “To be fair, I didn’t scream or anything like that.”
“True,” Uta conceded. “But I did see the spider room footage, dear.”
Renji’s drooping eyelids snapped open. “You didn’t tell me that there was a spider room,” he growled.
“Pretty good, wasn’t it?”
Extraordinary. Renji glared, but Uta seemed to get it anyway. “To add on to that, you did jump when I surprised you in the clown room.”
“I don’t see how that’s fair,” Renji protested. “Anyone would jump in that situation!”
Uta seemed to contemplate that. “Maybe, but you’re not one to be swayed by cheap jump-scare tactics. I think we successfully threw you off your game.”
His voice was teasing, playful, but there was still a deep-seated part of Renji that wanted to keep denying it—the angry kid that lived in a world where weakness meant death. It rested on the tip of his tongue…but he swallowed it down.
“Honestly?” he said quietly. “Yeah, it was a lot to take in.”
Uta twisted around to face him, eyes wide. “Was that an admission of defeat?” he asked.
Renji shrugged. “Take it however you will. What I’m sayin’ is that it was absolutely amazing.” He smiled as Uta’s stunned expression made the admission just a little bit easier. “The work you guys put into it blew me away.”
Under Renji’s palm, Uta’s heart pounded in his chest. “You’re not even mad about the spider room?”
Renji hesitated. “I…okay, I’m a little mad about the spider room. But more importantly, I’m so goddamn proud of you.”
He was ready to keep talking when Uta’s lips sealed over his. It sent pleasant shivers down Renji’s back as he drew him in, licking the chemical taste of makeup off his teeth.
“I love you,” Uta pulled back just enough to sigh. “Perfect raven. I’m almost a little sad you lost our bet.”
Renji scowled, nipping at Uta’s lip hard enough to bleed. “Bitch,” he muttered halfheartedly.
Uta grinned. “You love me,” he crooned, licking at the blood beading on his lip. It smeared across his piercing there, turning surgical steel gleaming red. Renji swallowed, realizing his mouth was watering.
If this was defeat, he could live with it.
“Damn right I do,” muttered, grinning, reeling Uta in for another kiss.
Uta laughed. “Good, because I’m saving that favor for later.”
The dread that filled Renji’s stomach didn’t at all compare to the giddiness of having Uta in his arms for the first time in days and the pride at what he’d seen his husband do.
“Know what? I can't wait."