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Slumping against the door as he closed it behind himself, Rindo heaved a huge sigh of relief. It felt great to be home after a miserably lousy day of work. He’d been through two long meetings, and now all he wanted to do was just crash on the couch and play a game with his girlfriend. However, a quick glance at their dark living room told him she wasn’t around.
Checking his phone, he found an unread text from her—one letting him know she’d be busy hosting a stream. A small twinge of disappointment tugged at him, but he brushed it off. They’d hang out whenever she finished, if he wasn’t too tired.
After quickly tapping out a response to let her know he was home, he busied himself with getting food for his growling stomach, then settled on the couch and turned on one of his game consoles. Now he just needed to decide what he wanted to play. Lately his focus had been geared towards working through his backlog of RPGs, but right now he wanted something that’d hopefully keep him awake—something that would sharpen his senses. So, even though he might regret it later, he loaded up one of Shoka’s horror games. That was a sure-fire way to keep himself alert.
Entering the game’s starting point—a drafty workbase where players could purchase items, check on their progress, or join others—he searched for some online players to team up with. Upon finding a group, they set off for a random destination.
He skimmed a box telling him his primary objectives. Looked like this time, he had to figure out who had died and what kind of spirit they’d become. Easy enough.
Stepping off the truck the players had arrived in, he found himself at the entrance to an abandoned theme park. Great. There was a new source of nightmare fuel for him.
After unlocking the chained up gate to the park, he wandered into a misty setting. It was unusually still, like it’d been frozen in time. Moss covered the broken rides, and torn up plush prizes laid scattered around the walkway. Swiveling his toggle to the side, Rindo inhaled a sharp gasp as his flashlight hit a forgotten clown costume, and he almost started running.
He let his breath out, forcing himself to calm down. He couldn’t get worked up this early—after all, he still had a grace period. The spirits never acted this soon, meaning as much as the clown suit creeped him out, it was just decor.
Rindo had only played this game a handful of times and usually with Shoka when she wanted to partner up. Well… that or just mess with him and get him killed. Not that he minded a little horror, but it was more of her thing than his. She could go for hours on this game.
As his group began setting up various tools to try and figure out where the ghost lurked, he readied a videocam to place down whenever it would be needed. It didn’t take long for one of the other players to shout out that they’d found a tattered circus tent with subzero temperatures. That could mean a Yuuki-onna, or even a Poltergeist. As soon as everyone made it to the tent, another player began spreading salt down on the straw strewn floor of the ghost room. Good, they’d soon know whether this creature belonged in the witch or demon category. Though if not, they would need more info. Rindo quickly set down his video camera to try and track any spirit orbs, then tossed down a notebook to see if the ghost would write their name in it.
After they’d finished all their prep, he backed off, waiting to see what would happen next. He hoped they still had enough time on the countdown timer to glean some evidence before the ghost began snacking.
Two of his teammates wandered off, likely checking other rooms for ghost readings on an EMF device. Probably smart. Occasionally, two spirits could be in a setting at once, so checking multiple places might save their asses when the killing began. Or so he hoped, anyway.
Time drifted on with no interactions, and he began to wonder if it was one of the quieter spirits, until…
Laughter rang throughout the room, and one of the candles set up by another player had its flame snuffed out. The sounds made his hair stand on end, its laughter just disturbing enough to trigger his nerves. He rushed to ready a basic camera for taking photos in case the ghost appeared on screen.
Somewhere in the distance, he heard the crash of a gate slamming shut followed by the click of a lock. Great. That meant it’d probably just trapped them in the theme park, so there was no escaping anymore—just surviving long enough to finish this mystery.
Nerves amped up even more, he had to decide fast if he wanted to hide, or to keep fishing for evidence. But he had no way of knowing where the ghost had started its hunt, so it might be safer to hide for a while and see what happened next. His eyes frantically searched for such a safe space until they snagged on a heap of straw over by the corner of the tent. That could be his ticket to survival, so long as he stayed quiet and didn’t let the mic in his controllers pick up his breathing. Whether a Yuuki-onna, a Poltergeist, or some other spirit, Rindo knew one thing—it wouldn’t be satisfied until at least one of them was dead.
No more than a few seconds went by before the lights shut off, sending the tent into dark oblivion. He hurriedly shuffled through his gear for a flashlight until he remembered the ghost could pick up on traces of light, so it wouldn't be safe to use right now. Both his character’s heart and his own thudded faster with every moment that passed as he listened for any trace of the demonic being.
He scooted forward slightly, his eyes locked on the TV’s screen as he heard footsteps echo in the distance. One of the other players? Or the ghost? He couldn’t let himself get distracted, or he’d definitely join the angry spirits. Then suddenly the ghost’s presence loomed over him, dripping knife poised, ready for the kill. “Shit!” he hissed under his breath as he ran, knowing too well it would be all over if he didn’t act fast. He hardly even noticed when something soft brushed against his neck and shoulder; if anything, he almost shrugged it off on instinct.
And then a singsong voice whispered right in his ear, “Guess who died.”
Rindo flinched hard, entire body seizing up.
Light cackling filled the air as Shoka slid over the back of the couch and flopped next to him. “Gotcha.”
“S-Shoka! Are you serious right now?” Rindo sputtered in almost a yell.
“As serious as your panic.”
His own heart now hammering, Rindo looked back at theTV to find his character had died tragically in a crumpled heap. “You just made me die!”
“Please, you were already on your way out. I just distracted you from witnessing it.”
“I wasn’t dead yet,” he argued.
“Its knife was about to end you.”
“Yeah, but I could’ve protected myself if you hadn’t tried to jumpscare me.”
“Tried?”
“W-whatever, you know what I mean.”
She rolled onto her stomach, resting her chin on his leg. “Why are you playing my game, anyways?”
Sighing as his heart eased up again, he dropped his controller beside him. “Trying to stay awake so I could wait for you?”
“Aw. Aren’t you sweet?”
“Not sure how sweet I want to be now.”
“That was just a little friendly fire.”
“Right. Real ‘friendly.’”
“Oh come on, don’t you want to hang out still?”
“I guess,” he said in a sulk. Time to kiss his progress goodbye. All that gear he’d used? Gone. The time he’d spent trying to get some evidence? Wasted. He counted himself lucky the chat couldn’t call him out for abandoning them.
He felt Shoka’s head press against his side in some sort of weird gesture of affection. “Come on, we can still have fun.”
Rolling his eyes, he snatched his controllers back up and lightly bonked her on the head with them. “Should I turn this off? Or do you wanna play too?”
Peering up at him through her lashes, a playful smirk spread across her face. “What do you think?”
“I think you’re lucky I’m offering to play after what you just did.”
Pushing herself back up, Shoka snagged the controllers from him. “And yet you’re still in a relationship with me,” she teased.
“Believe me, I question myself every day.” He grinned as she cast him an extra tart look. “I’ll use my laptop so you can have the TV.”
“Works for me.” Shoka settled in her usual spot on the couch, drawing her knees up to her chest while holding the controllers in front of them. “I’ll send you an invite after I switch users.”
Once he had the game loaded on his laptop, he joined her, and they picked their setting together. Of course Shoka insisted on the manor with the fancy estate, ‘cause why wouldn’t she choose one of the creepiest options after her little scare tactic?
She glanced at him, smiling like the creepy cat from Alice in Wonderland. “Looks like it’s game time. Or should I say time for your second imminent demise?”
“Very funny,” Rindo responded dryly. No way he’d die this time. Rather, maybe a little payback was in order.
And so they began their mission. He cycled through his inventory, noting that he’d gained much better gear thanks to Shoka’s experience. Playing with someone seasoned really helped way more than a bunch of randos. Little did she know he’d be using that to his advantage. Their objectives were to let the spirit blow out a lit candle and get as many pictures of ghostly activity as possible. Could be worse. He hated the missions where he had to get a picture of the apparition’s blood lust, or even worse when he had to snap a shot of the weapon it wanted to kill him with. Plus, their current mission worked perfectly with the idea forming in Rindo’s head.
They both took different approaches to finding the wandering spirit. While Shoka checked the temperatures of each room for anything off, he used the EMF tracker. It took a while, but eventually they got their readings in the bathroom off a long hallway.
“Of all the rooms this place has to offer, it chose a bathroom?” Shoka questioned.
“I guess? Don’t ask me why. That’s not where I’d want to hang out in my afterlife.”
Now that they’d discovered where it hid, he set out a video camera while Shoka dropped a book for the spirit.
“Ah, crap. I forgot to get incense,” Rindo grumbled.
“Wow, someone’s slacking on the job,” Shoka responded. “Better hurry it up. Who knows how long we have now.”
“I know, I know. I’m on it.” Rindo quickly moved his player towards the manor’s entrance, but he didn’t bother going back out to the van. Instead, he headed down into the depths of the basement where the power breaker was. Flipping the switch off, he plunged the estate into utter darkness. Whatever time they had left would be cut short, beckoning the spirit’s violent nature out before long.
A light hiss sounded from Shoka as she sharply sucked in a breath. “Seriously? The stupid ghost is already starting that?”
Biting the inside of his cheek, Rindo managed to keep himself composed. “Looks like it. Want me to go turn the breaker on?”
“Duh. I can hardly see in all this darkness.” One glance at the TV, and Rindo noticed her scrounging through her gear for a flashlight.
He clicked at his keyboard to stall a bit, his character spinning in a circle as he curiously waited to see what’d happen on Shoka’s end.
Seconds ticked by and Shoka got her flashlight going right as a towel flung itself across the bathroom, followed by a shrill whisper.
“Oh, cry me a river, why don’t you?” she taunted the ghost.
“Is taunting it really the smartest idea?”
“It’s not like it actually matters. Also, are you flipping the breaker anytime this year?”
“Yeah, I’m almost there.” Good thing he’d sat at the other end of the couch. She had no idea that he controlled her fate now.
Just as Shoka’s flashlight hit the mirror, the apparition’s reflection shrieked from behind her player, bloodied knife in hand. It lunged for her—
“Crap!” Shoka immediately backed out the bathroom door and down the hall—but the ghost kept after her, flashing into existence as it picked up the pace.
“Think you’re going to get an edge on me? Not gonna happen, Gravebait.” Shoka kept backing away, weaving around various pieces of furniture strewn about the dining room as it chased her. She managed to burn some incense, clearing the air until finally it vanished. “Ha. Get bent, you stupid thing.”
This time Rindo couldn’t help himself and subtly snickered.
Shoka’s eyes instantly pinned him with a glare. “You were trying to end me, weren’t you?”
Shaking his head, Rindo offered a coy response, “Me? No way. I’d never abandon my girlfriend to some terrifying ghost.”
“Ugh. You’re in serious trouble right now!”
“Hey, you had it coming after what you did earlier,” Rindo laughed. “It’s only fair.”
“No, ‘fair’ is being the noble boyfriend who lets his girlfriend creep him out from time to time, just because.”
“What happened to the ex-Reaper who liked a challenge?”
Shoka’s glare narrowed more. “I still like challenges, just not being thrown to the sharks.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Alright. If that’s how you wanna play it, get back in here and we’ll see who dies first.”
“Think I’m good, thanks. And besides, you pulled something worse on me, whispering in my ear like that.”
“You know, some guys might actually find that sexy.”
“Yeah, it’s real sexy when someone’s driving panic into your heart.”
“It’s called flavor,” Shoka retorted, still looking like the equivalent to a thunder cloud.
“You could always do the whispering thing without sneaking up on me,” he tried, hoping to soften her mood a little more.
“I’m not sure you deserve that right now.” She stretched across the couch to prod him with her controllers, but instead he ducked out of the way.
“Ha. Missed me.”
Brow furrowing, she got on her knees and tried swiping him again.
And again he escaped her controllers. “Nope. Sorry, try again,” he teased.
“Rindo!”
Laughing, he set his laptop aside and looped an arm around her waist, pulling her against him as he kept her still.
“Okay, now what are you doing?” she snapped.
“Keeping you from whapping me? It’s self-defense.”
“It’s cheating.”
“Is it cheating if I also kiss you?” He pressed a soft one on her nose.
Shoka stared at him for a moment, gray eyes calculating. “No… I guess not.” She sounded like she was sucking a lemon admitting that.
“Good. Because I have more if you want them.”
She eyed him skeptically. “How do I know you’re not about to pull another fast one on me?”
“You don’t always, but this time I’m serious.”
“Fine. But you’d better make those kisses of yours worth it.”
“Aren’t they usually?”
“It depends on the day and my mood, and today, I think these need to be extra special.”
Shaking his head, he decided not to push it further and relented. “Alright. I can do that…” This time, he brushed his lips against her chin, only pausing to check if she still boasted a stubborn expression. She did, so he traveled to her neck and placed a longer, more lingering kiss.
He heard her exhale softly. “Okay… That’s getting better, but I need more.”
“More? That wasn’t enough to convince you?”
“Nope. Keep trying.” Her eyes had grown gentle, but hid a hint of mischief in them.
“Heh. Alright, but I hope you’re ready for the next level of convincing.”
“Oh, I am. Trust me…”
He resumed his work, lips skimming all the way down to the bend of her neck just before her shoulder. Eventually reaching the fabric of her sweater, he utilized its loose neck to nudge it aside and expose Shoka’s shoulder. Continuing his trail of kisses, he drifted along her collarbone. And with each kiss, he felt her melt against him more and more.
The heat between them grew stronger, and soon Shoka’s arm slipped around him to grip the back of his shirt. She followed it up with the warmth of her lips as they touched every available bit of bare skin his neck had to offer. Somewhere in the back of his brain, he knew he was currently getting smothered in lipstick, but he was too entranced by the sensation to care.
Encouraged by her frenzied kisses and the need to be closer to her in every way possible, he let his hand travel along her back, fingers sliding down her spine until he reached the edge of her shirt where his thumb caressed the bit of skin showing just below it. He felt her shudder, and her kisses grew even more intense as his hand found its way to the curve of her waist, landing on the side of her hip bone.
Breath short and heart beating rapidly against him, Shoka whispered, “Hey… You know, I think our room could probably use a little ghostly investigating, if you want to go check it out...”
Though his pulse skipped a beat, he still couldn’t help but chuckle at her suggestive invitation. “I think that’s the most cliché thing I’ve heard you say...”
A brief silence was quickly followed up with a thwap to the side of his temple. “That’s not what any girl wants to hear when you’ve got the mood going.”
“R-right. Sorry.” Deciding to play along he gently squeezed her hip and continued by whispering, “I’m guessing this spirit wants some extra attention tonight?”
“She might…”
“I dunno. I think my energy got zapped the last time she spooked me…”
Shoka’s lips tweaked in a playful smile. “What’s the fun if the ghost can’t be eerie sometimes?” He felt the tickling sensation of her fingers creeping down his side. “Besides, she can be more than spooky… if you catch my drift.”
His heart rate shot up, thankfully not from being startled this time, but from something much better. “My curiosity might be kind of piqued...”
“Only kind of?” Shoka squirmed out of his arms and crawled onto him so she could stare intensely into his face. “Is that really all?”
Crap, he’d ruin his chances if he kept teasing her. “N-no. I’m game for some exploration…” Her face was so close that he could feel her breath and see every beautiful fleck of black and blue in her gray eyes.
“Then you’d better get a move on, before the mood fizzles.” Warm fingers slid under his hoodie and danced across his bare chest for emphasis. Shoka really didn’t need to entice him more, but he was here for it. “Could be a long night of investigating…” she added, starting to rise.
Breath now caught in his throat, he couldn’t help but pull her back onto him, lips crushing against hers. Only a faint squeak of surprise could be heard from Shoka around their sealed lips, but she soon matched his intensity just as easily.
It only lasted for moments, but it was more than enough when she pulled away and slid off of him.
Fumbling, he rushed to rise too. “I think my energy’s in check, don’t worry.”
“Funny how quick your tune changed.” She offered her hand, eyes fixed on him in the special way she did only for moments like these.
With absolutely no hesitation, he slipped his hand in hers and allowed himself to be lured away to their room by this so-called spirit.
* * * * * * *
A sense of deep comforting contentment filled him as Rindo stirred from his hazy slumber. Cracking an eye open, he could see that sunlight had begun to seep in around the edges of the room-darkening curtains that adorned the bedroom window.
Shifting, he peered over at Shoka. Her back faced him as she slept soundly, bare shoulders peeking out from the blankets that covered her petite form. His eyes lingered on them, noticing the way strands of her dark hair spilled over them, and how nice the curves and dips of her shoulder blades were.
Without even thinking, he reached over and lightly brushed his fingers over one of the contours. Her delicate skin was so pale and yet felt so warm—the contact made memories of the previous night filter into his mind once again, drawing a smile to his lips.
Just as he leaned in to kiss her shoulder, Shoka suddenly twitched, causing him to jerk away, hand dropping to the bed. She rolled over to face him, but her eyes stayed tightly shut. He sighed, relieved she hadn’t actually woken up—that would’ve been awkward. But now that he had a better view of her face, he could see that her hair was more notably mussed than usual—probably his fault—and that her make-up had gotten smudged since she’d never had the chance to clean it off the night before. He knew if she could see herself right now, she’d be horrified, but he found haphazard Shoka to be every bit as beautiful as when she was all dressed up for a night out. Admittedly, it gave him a sliver of pride knowing he got to be the only one to see her this way.
“You know… you could take a picture. It’d probably last longer.” Shoka stared back at him now.
“A-ah. Hey. Morning,” he said quietly. “Sleep well?”
“Mm, I could probably use a little more after last night.” Her lips tweaked in a faint smirk.
Rindo felt his cheeks heat up, but didn’t let himself get too embarrassed. “If you need to sleep more, you should get some.”
“What, so you can keep staring?”
“No, because you’re tired, aren’t you?” He paused. “And… Yeah. Maybe that too,” he admitted.
Reaching over, she gave him a light shove on the chest. “You’re such a dummy.”
“Heh. No more than usual, right?”
“That’s debatable.” She yawned, scooching close enough he could feel her skin press against his. The sensation made his muscles relax as traces of her body lotion tickled his nose, and comforted him in its own weird way. This closeness—along with their shared body heat—wasn’t something he would’ve ever thought about until the first time they’d slept together, but it made him feel secure, like he’d never lose her. “Also, I’m cold,” she added, disrupting his thoughts as she finished nestling against him.
“You feel plenty warm to me,” he murmured, but slipped his arms around her regardless.
“You’re warmer than me. You always are.”
“I know. You like to remind me all the time.” He pressed his nose against the crook of her neck, giving it a small kiss.
“Wow. Already looking for round two there, Rindykins?”
“Nope. The first one was plenty. I’m just enjoying the post benefits.”
“Post benefits? What does that even mean?”
“Laying here like this,” he answered, eyes drifting shut.
“Huh… You’re more of a sap than I thought.”
“Like you’re not enjoying it too.”
She stayed quiet for a while before responding. “Maybe… I do enjoy reaping the heat from your body.”
“Love how you put that.” Rindo shook his head slightly.
“Once a Reaper, always a Reaper.”
“Is ‘Reaper of Body Heat’ really what you want to go with?” he asked sarcastically.
“Would you quit ruining the moment?” Shoka flipped the blanket over his head.
“Hey!” he complained, eyes snapping open. “I was trying to have a moment until you brought up the Reaper thing.”
“Just shush already and let’s change the subject.”
“Kinda hard when you buried me,” he responded, voice muffled.
After an audible huff, Shoka tugged the blankets back off his head. “Happy?”
“Better, but now my hair feels like a mess.”
“And who’s fault was that?” she quipped.
“Uh, yours?”
Her lips puffed up in a small pout. “I think I’ll call it payback, since you messed mine all up.”
She had him there.
Rindo cleared his throat awkwardly. “That was just… you know, the heat of the moment.”
“Yeah, but the point is, your heated moment made it a mess.”
Shifting, he withdrew an arm from around her and began fixing the tangled up strands of her hair.
Shoka remained still, silently watching his face as he did what he could with a slight blush spread across her cheeks.
“There. It’s a little better now.”
“Mm… I’ll still have to check it later and see if it meets my standards.” At least she was smiling again.
“Heh, that’s fine.” He sighed and hugged her closer. “I’m glad we don’t have to go anywhere today...”
“Same. I just want to hang out at home and do nothing.”
“What about gaming?”
“You mean do literally what I already do almost every day for my job?” Shoka questioned.
He hesitated. “Yeah, basically. Unless you’re too burnt out from all your streams.”
“Please, I’m never too burnt out for gaming. It’s more the people I get burnt out on. But I am kind of surprised you’re not the one who needs a break, what with your game developing career and all.”
“Developing them is one thing, but playing something I didn’t even work on is a whole other. Besides, I wouldn’t be in this industry if I didn’t mind spending a day off playing games with you.”
“Fair enough. I think we can call it doing nothing, since it means no work and no streams.” She shifted in his arms to face him. “As long as it means spending the day just chilling together.”
“Sounds great to me… but, didn’t you say we had to do some house cleaning this weekend?” Rindo asked, remembering her mentioning something about it the other day.
Her happy expression fizzled, replaced with annoyance. “There’s always tomorrow.” He could practically feel her cringe.
“Isn’t that what we said last time we talked about doing chores?”
“Yeah, well… Do you want to do chores today?”
After a long silence he finally said, “No.”
“Didn’t think so.”
“Whatever. Back on the topic of games… I kind of want to pick up ExSaber Archives and play more of it.”
“Um, it’s my turn, remember?” Shoka glanced up at him.
“I let you pick twice last weekend, so this time it’s my turn to choose the game.”
“That so doesn’t count. You didn’t even know what you wanted to play.” She bonked her foot against his ankle.
“That doesn’t mean I have to forfeit a turn later.” He nudged it back.
“It’s not actually your turn, though.”
“I think it is.” He grinned, attempting to trap her foot with his as she tried to get him again.
“No, it’s not.” This time Shoka hooked a leg over his, forcing him to be still. “Also, I win,” she whispered.
Groaning, he relented and pressed his forehead against hers, “Fine. You win.”
Together, they stayed like that for a while, foreheads resting against one another, just being close in their cozy cocoon of blankets. The warm bliss lasted until Shoka broke the silence with a single statement. “I call the shower first.”
Taken aback by her sudden words, Rindo’s brow furrowed. “Now who’s ruining the moment? And why do you get the shower first? You take forever.”
“Because I called it before you.”
“What are we, five?”
“It’s just the name of the game, Rindykins.”
“Sure it is.”
Shoka gently began pulling away from his grip, taking some of the heat with her. “I’d say we could shower together, but ours doesn’t fit two. So too bad, so sad.”
“You’re so thoughtful.” Rindo rolled his eyes.
“Aren’t I always?” Can you get some coffee going?” She began gathering her clothes.
“Fine, but don’t take too long or it’ll get cold.”
“I make no promises.”
Rindo slipped out of bed too, feeling the cold air hit him as he did. He grabbed a robe, tugged it on, then caught Shoka in a final embrace before she could vanish into the bathroom. “Hey, I love you,” he mumbled into her ear.
She snorted softly then pressed against him. “I love you too, you sap.”