Private Trick or Training

[Atsushi Nakajima]

October 28th
@Chuuya Nakahara
​

Halloween, a foreign concept to Atsushi as he'd never really seen it celebrated before and didn't know much about it until this year in Pandora. He was bright and happy to learn about the different traditions people had brought with them to Pandora, some who embraced the dead and celebrated their lives through shared memories, while other traditions warded off spirits with pumpkin carvings and sang songs of warnings to children about what would lurk for them if they didn't behave themselves. While Atsushi thought things like the fake blood and rotting pretend limbs were a little bit on the nose for the life he had lead so far, he couldn't help but enjoy the way he saw children light up whenever they passed by in their fancy dress with tired parents in tow.​

He was currently waiting to meet up with Chuuya, the man finishing up inside of a bar though whether it was for leisure or work, he didn't know or mind, when a small child wandered over to the teenager. Looking up at him past her ghost costume, a sheet with two holes in, she blinked at Atsushi as if waiting to be entertained. Glancing around in confusion, Atsushi shrugged before he lifted his hands, curling his fingers in to mimic claws as he half snarled, half smiled at the child, laughing when she squealed in delight and wandered off reluctantly with her unseen mother's beckoning. ​

So enamored was he that he almost forget about Chuuya, glancing back at the bar as he wondered what it would have been like for him, a childhood where he could go out dressed up and do some of the trick or treating he had heard so much about and seen tonight. Half stepping on something hard when he moved one foot forward, Atsushi glanced down and realised that he'd in fact stepped on a candy the girl must have dropped when rushing off. Picking it up, Atsushi heard Chuuya coming out of the bar while he dusted off the wrapper, seeing that the little girl was still within jogging distance.​

Without much thought, Atsushi grabbed Chuuya's wrist and tugged the elder along with him, waving the candy around as he gave some half heard reasoning for his actions, chasing down the girl with his mentor just behind. Confusion soon set in when Atsushi saw the little girl disappearing into a large house the teenager was most sure he had not seen earlier, though it gave him a chill and didn't look like the kind of place a child should have been going alone. Where was her parent anyway? Atsushi was sure he had heard a woman's voice but... now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure he'd even seen an accompanying body to go with said voice, just the little ghost girl.​

"She went inside- Do you think she's okay?" It was obvious regardless of what Chuuya thought, Atsushi was determined to find out if she really was okay.​

Stepping inside of the daunting house without much thought, he'd let go of Chuuya just before doing so, calling out a soft 'Hello?', not expecting an answer. Instead, a chill rand down Atsushi's spine when he heard a giggle, echoing down the hall. Glancing at the candy in his hand, Atsushi blinked when instead of the brightly coloured wrapper he had wiped down earlier, he found nothing but a dirty pebble, one he dropped in surprise, stepping away when the sound was ear achingly loud in the otherwise silent house. Unable to shake the feeling of being watched, the teenager gathered his courage and called out a little louder this time.​

"Hello?"​

 

[Chuuya Nakahara]

It was three days before Halloween and just the reminder left a bad taste in his mouth. Last year, he had spent it with Dazai...and that was a night that had been filled with alcohol, dancing, and more. It was also the night he had confessed...and caused things to crash down on them.

He wonders sometimes—if things would have been different if he had never said those cursed words. Maybe he’d feel less hollow, less fucked up.

Chuuya finished the shot just as the bartender came and gave him the share that was owed for the job. Giving him a salute, Chuuya walked out to see Atsushi smiling at seeing all the kids running around with costumes. It was...kind of sweet, but he kept his expression neutral as he made his way to the kid.

They had kept up his training, and while he’ll admit, he was much colder and harsher since summer, Atsushi never complained. He was...kind. A bit of a shame when he was thrust into this kind of world. Chuuya wondered if Akutagawa would have had a different life if he’d never been taken in by Dazai and the Port Mafia.

Being dragged along by the kid wasn’t dignified, but he let him since apparently, he wanted to give candy to a child pretending to be a ghost. However, the kid vanished and had gone into a house. At the question, Chuuya frowned as he looked at the house.

It looked weird and fucked up—and not something he’d seen before. Was this the thing that Pandora did every now and then? “I think we should see if—Atsushi?” And, the kid went inside. Great.

Rolling his eyes, he followed the kid and really, the house was as creepy as it looked. Chuuya didn’t like it, but it was better to keep an eye on Atsushi than leave him alone. The weretiger called out again, the words ‘hello’ echoing through the halls. “I got a bad feeling about this.”

Creaking sounds echoed in the hallway; the wind blowing, causing the wood of the house to almost sound like moaning. Chuuya looked back at Atsushi. “What do you want to do, kid?”

 

[Atsushi Nakajima]

Now that he had entered the house, Atsushi couldn't claim to have the best feeling in the world from what he was seeing. The hairs on the back of his neck and along his forearms raised in warning, his ears pricking to each little sound he could pick up while those two toned eyes of his dared about the seemingly empty hallway.
"Me?" Decisions weren't often left up to the weretiger, and he didn't like responsibility much, mostly in case he messed up and someone got hurt because of a decision he had made. But... he had been the one to walk into the building and chase after the girl with her candy without much more thought than that.

Lifting his hand that held said candy, Atsushi blinked when he realised that it was gone, his gaze looking on the ground to see if he could spot it in his rush to enter the house. But no, the teen could remember holding it in his hand, he knew he felt the curve of the ball of candy in his hand, the small weight of it on his palm, so where had it gone?
"It's gone, Chuuya. The candy for the little girl, the one she dropped, I had it just a second ago but-" As if on some dark humorous cue, the doors behind the pair swung shut with a loud clattering and bang, making the paintings on the wall shake in their frames.

"Okay, yeah, bad feeling is definitely happening now." Atsushi gulped as he finished speaking, turning his head back and forth to check the darkened hallway as if he were expecting someone to come stepping out of the shadows any second now. What did they do now? He'd been the one to drag Chuuya here, now this was his responsibility to get them out, though he had a feeling trying those doorknobs would be no good, still, he gave it a go. Sure enough, a jostle of the handles served as nothing more than more noise in the deafeningly quiet house, and for a single bead of sweat to roll down the teen's forehead.

"While I'd say we could just knock down the door and leave, I have a feeling that's... not the best idea. Right?" Turning to Chuuya for reassurance of this observation, Atsushi searched the elder's eyes before he straightened his back and shoulders, clearing his throat in some attempt not to sound so frightened.
"I'd suggest we stick together and look through this place. Just in case that little girl is in here, what do you think?" Atsushi asked, his gloved hands curled up at his sides and a frown furrowing his brows while he looked at his mentor.​

 

[Chuuya Nakahara]

Chuuya remained silent as he waited for Atsushi’s course of action. While this was stupid, it could also be a perfect way to do some training with the weretiger. Make him adapt on the fly, while they tried to get the fuck out of here.

This was a good way to build up his confidence. Atsushi rose his hand to check something before he started looking at the ground. Apparently, the candy he had found was gone but before he could say any more, the door shut as if they were in a horror movie and shit hit the fan.

Chuuya stood straighter, narrowing his eyes as he kept an eye on their surroundings. He’s learned a bit to...well, to keep an eye on things. To get a sense of a battlefield cause if someone catches you off guard, you’re fucked. But this felt more—he wasn’t sure what this felt like more.

Atsushi tried to open the door—no dice. Chuuya sighed as he looked further down the dark corridor before looking back at the weretiger.
“With how Pandora is, there could be magic or some supernatural bullshit there. It’d be a waste of time in that case.”

Dusting off his jacket and looking back at Atsushi, he replied. “Good idea. Let’s check the place out for a different exit and that girl you saw.”

He decided to take charge, walking with purpose despite not knowing at all where he was going. However, after a while, as they passed the picture frames and the like, Chuuya frowned after a few minutes. Was it just him or do the picture frames look like their eyes were looking at them?

The sound of a creak was heard and Chuuya raised his hand to stop Atsushi, before gently tapping his ears to Atsushi. Maybe the weretiger would pick up something better with that hearing.

 

[Atsushi Nakajima]

Yeah, sure, this could be a training exercise. Why not? Just your run of the mill average ghost girl turning up and luring Atsushi into a possibly (read: definitely) haunted house for some kind of game.
"Maybe she's lonely." He said with little hope. Shoulders slumping a little, Atsushi blinked when Chuuya mentioned looking for the little girl that had brought the weretiger here in the first place. They didn't have to look for her, not at all, but the fact Chuuya even mentioned it brought a slight smile to Atsushi's face and made his chest feel a little less heavy.

Quick to catch up with the redhead, Atsushi glanced at their surroundings while he walked though almost bumped into the elder when he'd stopped suddenly in front of him. Had the paintings been staring at him when he passed by? Digging his heels in to prevent the collision, Atsushi's keen ears picked up on the sound coming from just up ahead as well, his multicoloured eyes glinting while the hairs on the back of his neck stood to attention.

He did not have a good feeling about this.

Stepping around Chuuya and walking down the hallway ahead, the teenager stood frozen for a time in front of a doorway. Hand hovering over the door knob it took Atsushi a moment before he finally made contact, turning the handle and pushing open the oak frame to reveal an entirely empty room aside from one thing - a rocking chair right in the middle. And it was moving. No one sat in it, but it was definitely moving and the source of the creaking they'd both heard on the way here.

Walking over to it slowly, Atsushi reached one of his hands out and rested it on the arm of the chair, wanting to stop it from moving, though the minute he touched the wood he regretted it. Something grabbed his arm and it was cold, making the teenager gasp and pull back or try to, struggling against some unseen phantom.
"Let go!" He exclaimed, wriggling around and when he finally got free the momentum sent him tumbling back until he landed on his ass.

Grunting as he sat upright, the weretiger lifted his arm and pulled back his sleeve. On his forearm was an ice-borne burn, it hurt but that wasn't what was freaking Atsushi out. The burn was in the shape of a hand, large enough it had been wrapped around most his forearm. Looking back at Chuuya, the teenager appeared white as a sheet, letting out a small, worried noise when the mark seemed to grow colder and colder as time passed.

"Okay, okay note to self- do not touch anything in here."​

 

[Chuuya Nakahara]

Chuuya narrowed his eyes and look at Atsushi with a deadpan look. “And if she is, what are you gonna do about it? Don’t act like Dazai right now, kid.” He really didn’t need the weretiger to act like his mentor right now, so hopefully, the kid either listens and they search for the girl just for peace of mind, or they punch their way out of this place.

Chuuya wasn’t going to lie, he ignored the weird paintings, despite feeling as if they were being watched. He hasn’t really encountered many of the...supernatural variety but he was going to suspect the worse until proven otherwise.

Atsushi stepped around him after listening to what he said before he opened the door. And it was...a rocking chair. Rocking back and forth. And nobody was on it. Fucking hell, this place was gonna be haunted, wasn’t it? But then, Atsushi went and touched it.

“Atsushi!” Chuuya shouted just when Atsushi said to be let go and fell to the ground. Chuuya grabbed the kid’s shoulder and pulled him back, the redhead glared around the area. For the Tainted Sorrow glowed softly, as the kid looked at his hand and really...Chuuya did not like that handprint burn on the weretiger.

He pulled the kid outside of the room and before he could even close the door, it slammed shut by itself. Chuuya said, “Let me see that.” He gently held the kid’s arm in his hand, moving it around as he inspected it as he spoke. “As we both realized, this place is probably haunted. If you still want to look for the girl, we can do that—but if you get hurt again, I am gonna punch the walls, and we fucking leave, okay?” He warned, raising his gaze to the weretiger. Atsushi’s safety was his priority right now, so he wouldn’t let the kid get hurt again. Not on his watch.

 

[Atsushi Nakajima]

"Hey! I didn't mean it like that. ...Wait. Does Dazai even flirt with ghosts?" Atsushi wasn't even sure he wanted an answer to that, causing him to swiftly lift his arms and make an x shape in front of him. Nope, definitely didn't want to know. Some things he could live without knowing, this was one of them. Atsushi tried not to wince as his arm was taken to be examined, feeling how it burned still and was a strange mix of numbing and excruciatingly cold, biting, unforgiving. He wanted to cry from the pain, silly when he knew he'd had worse in life, but that wasn't what stopped him.

Children without parents don't deserve to cry in this world.

Such words echoed around Atsushi's head and they worked wonders, his tears didn't fall and he quickly brushed his palm over his eyelids. Looking up at Chuuya as he explained and gave him an ultimatum which the teenager thought was more than fair, he nodded his head and pushed himself up, leaving his sleeve rolled up for now. He didn't want anything touching his arm, especially when the frosty hand print only seemed to worsen the longer they were here.

"Alright. How do we get out of here?" Atsushi asked, glancing around and not bothering with the door considering how it had slammed shut on its own. From the centre of the room's ceiling suddenly unfolded a ladder, causing the teenager to step back and gaze up at it in surprise, hesitant as if he half expected some ghoul to pop its head out and scream at them.

Instead there was silence and after casting a cautious look at Chuuya, Atsushi nervously took a step closer, nudging the ladder with the toe of one of his shoes first. Nothing. Lifting his face he looked up the ladder to see if he could spot anything above, had the hole been there all the time? What was it? An attic? But they were on the first floor. Shaking his head, Atsushi told himself there was no point trying to make sense of a place that was haunted and had ghostly apparitions and damaging residents in the first place.

It was just going to get them hurt.

He'd been about to tell Chuuya that they should look elsewhere when he heard a haunting giggle come from the hole in the roof. A visible shudder running through the weretiger while his two-toned eyes widened in disbelief and fear. Slowly craning his head up, Atsushi gasped when he saw not the little girl he had been expecting to hear the sound come from, but instead a hideous, ghostly being that bared an unnaturally wide grin at him.

Jumping back from the ladder and towards his friend, Atsushi clenched his hands at his sides while the being seemed to... drop right out of the ceiling, bypassing the ladder and landing on the ground with a soundless thud. The entity continued to change shape, at one point it was a muddle of black goop with arms and legs that didn't match, sticking out of it, at others it was a rabid looking, famished animal - all forms as horrid as the last. But the last form it took, that one had Atsushi's lower lip wobbling.

It was the form of the little girl.

"Why are you doing this? Where's the little girl?" Atsushi asked as if it would answer him, the little girl staring at him for a while. But it wasn't her, was it? The weretiger had the feeling she'd been gone a long time, and this... this thing was merely using her likeness to lure fools like him in for similar endings. Still, Atsushi watched on in terror and disgust as the entity twisted its head around, a full three sixty degrees, accompanied by the ghastly sounds that came with it, all before the "girl" laughed terribly and lunged at Atsushi, screaming as it did so.

Too stunned or perhaps too sad, Atsushi didn't even blink, nor did he move.​

 

[Chuuya Nakahara]

Chuuya narrowed his eyes at Dazai flirting with ghosts. “I meant to not try to get yourself killed but knowing Dazai, maybe he has. Does he still go one about doing a double suicide?” He was trying to be dismissive, but there was a lingering feeling that he...didn’t want to think about right now.

When he saw Atsushi use his hand to his eyes, Chuuya wondered how much pain he must be in if he was tearing up. The redhead punt a hand on his shoulder and stroked it as he said. “Hey. Take deep breaths. How much does it hurt?” He asked, trying to get his voice to be calm. Chuuya wasn’t great at comforting others, even when it was people he cared for. He tried; but sometimes, to others, he might seem too harsh.

Either way, Atsushi decided to focus on the ultimatum he said—and yet, before Chuuya was about to bust any walls, a ladder dropped down from the ceiling. The redhead’s gut was telling him they should just fucking book it as Atsushi nudged the ladder. When the giggling was heard, Chuuya shook his head. “Oh, hell no. We’re getting out of here.”

While Chuuya has been in Pandora for a while, there are some things he’s never interacted with—mainly the whole supernatural and magic bullshit. So, he was positive that the girl Atsushi had seen was probably a ghost of some kind.

The whole thing that happened afterward, rose his hackles, his stomach twisting with anxiety. Atsushi asked what this...thing did to the girl, but if ghosts were anything like people, then it must have tricked Atsushi—there was never a girl, to begin with. This was a trap.

And then the ghost attacked—and Atsushi wasn’t moving. Chuuya’s ability flared up, stomping his foot on the ground, causing it to rippled and the floorboards shattered as the redhead grabbed Atsuhi’s wrist and pulled him towards him. His instincts thankfully helped to kick himself into gear as he ran with Atsushi. “I don’t think reasoning will do us any good. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”