The room was quiet, and there was tension in the air. Y/n remained in his position with a bated breath. Everything happened so fast, so suddenly, that his mind couldn't-or rather, wouldn't let him-process what occurred.
All of them had been fine a mere moment ago. Panicking, yes, but they were fine. They were preparing for something that had no guarantee of happening. For all Y/n knew, what he saw on the recording could have been an actual coincidence.
Yet, all it took was a split second of vulnerability, and something struck Jack from within the darkness. And, at that moment, everything Y/n had presumed immediately became a reality. It seemed like what had happened hadn't registered to the brunette just yet, who was frozen in place as stunned as he and Mizuki were.
"Jack..?" Mizuki finally broke the silence, voice shaking as she stared at their friend.
Y/n continued to focus on the ragged, sharp piece of metal sticking through Jack's shirt, which had begun to turn from a dark shade of blue to purple.
Drip
Drip
Drip
Y/N remained still, unable to take his gaze away from the metal that pierced Jack's abdomen.
Who's screaming..? He wondered. Is it Mizuki?
It probably was, but he wasn't sure. Neither did he care about knowing if he was correct right now. Everything around him sounded like he was hearing it from underwater; it was so muffled.
However, the sound of Jack's blood slowly streaming could not have been clearer to him. Y/n had heard plenty of noise before, but none could compare to the echoes that resonated through his skull as the red liquid trickled onto the floor.
Drip
Drip
Drip
When he eventually realized what had happened, he could feel his heart begin to pound relentlessly inside his chest. He questioned, his attention now fixed on the puddle of blood in front of him, How did I not see it? What attacked him?
"-/n! . . . he. . . u. . ."
If he couldn't see it, then how was he supposed to help themselves? His breathing became irregular, and his sense of helplessness grew more by the moment.
Meanwhile, while Y/n was in his own world, Mizuki helped Jack sit against the wall. Just as his legs gave away, she was quick enough to catch him before he could fall and potentially worsen his injury.
"Oh my god, oh my god, Jack," Mizuki's clothes had gotten stained by Jack's blood, but she didn't care. She had a hand on Jack's left shoulder as she crouched down next to him, the other shakily hovering with her flashlight just above the metal that pierced him. "Holy shit, what are we gonna do?! I'm so, so, so, sorry- This is all my fault! If-If only-"
Mizuki should've listened to them. If only she agreed to turn around the moment the two said it was a bad idea to go in, then they would have avoided this situation. But because of her stubbornness, Jack was suffering, all because she thought ghost hunting was a great idea.
Jack took a few shallow breaths, trying to calm himself down, and Mizuki by extension, "Just... relax for a... second," he managed to say in between huffs.
"H-How can I relax?!" Mizuki felt her eyes being prickled by tears, but she didn't hold them back, "You're fucking d-dying right in front of me right now!" saying that left such a bad taste in her mouth.
At last, the pain registered, and Jack's breathing quickened, "I'm not... dead yet!" It felt as though a thousand needles were prickling him from within; a sensation he had not felt for a few moments, perhaps due to adrenaline.
"Where... did it hit me?" He could feel the pain, but he wasn't sure where it had landed exactly. He refused to look at it, knowing he would start panicking more if he did, so he stared at Mizuki's face the whole time. "Is it bad? Don't... move it, I'll bleed... out faster."
As Mizuki examined his wound, her expression contorted, "It's worse than bad!" Blood had started leaking down onto his pants, making them red. It didn't help that the metal had some meaty stuff clinging onto it, "I-I think a few inches to the right of your belly button? I don't know!"
"Ah shit," Jack grimaced, feeling his pants start to get damper, "Hopefully... it didn't hit anything vital. Medical knowledge would be so helpful right now."
"It would," The stress was starting to get to her, so Mizuki tried to think of a joke. Her tears had threatened to start flowing by now, "You're k-kinning Ace so much right now."
"Do you actually... want me to die?" Jack's breaths became shorter and shorter. The prickling pain from before had started to become a burning one; It was worse than any he had felt in his lifetime.
"O-oi!" Mizuki, seeing Jack's sudden shortness of breath, panicked and called out to Y/n, who was now spacing out into the darkness, "Dumbass! Stop acting like that while Jack is dying! Please, Y/n! Help him!"
In Y/n's head, he couldn't understand what Mizuki was saying. It sounded like a bunch of sounds splashed together, creating an echo. All he could focus on was the darkness, which seemed to creep closer and closer toward them by the second. His flashlight had barely any use anymore. Right before Jack was attacked, the light lit the room just enough to be able to see. Now, it barely penetrated a few feet into the dark, just like how it was in the hallway.
When? Where? What's coming? Y/n's thoughts were filled with questions. He had been preparing for something to attack again the whole time, ignoring anything else going on.
Just as he thought there was a moment of respite, he caught something from his peripheral vision moving towards Mizuki at an alarming rate. She had carelessly faced her back to the darkness, the same way Jack had done so before.
Mizuki realized Y/n was suddenly gone from his spot and heard something drop behind her. She turned around and saw the flashlight Y/n had been using on the floor. The room had also returned to its original state, the darkness somewhat lessening.
"Wh- Y/n?!" Mizuki's panic worsened a hundredfold, her eyes widening once she couldn't find Y/n anywhere, "Where are you?!"
_ _ _
What's going on? Y/n tried glancing around while holding his right arm. However, try as he might, nothing was visible. It felt like he had lost his vision, but he was sure his eyes were perfectly fine.
Y/n winced in pain while looking- or at least, he assumed he was looking- at his arm, which he had used to deflect the attack he received. Mizuki was lucky he was fast enough to block whatever that thing was because he was sure she would've died where she stood if it had hit her. No normal human being could have survived that.
He guessed he was lucky that he wasn't.
Y/n began to move around, but everything felt off. He could tell he was walking, but there was no sensation of his feet touching the ground. Neither did he feel even the slightest movement of air.
First his sight, now his sense of feeling? No, he could feel his arm just fine, so he didn't lose it. Whatever got them into this situation was messing with him. He continued walking for a few minutes, but it seemed like the room was endless.
The metallic smell of blood and the rotting body's odor within the room had disappeared as well, and he couldn't hear anything. Neither Mizuki's panicked voice nor Jack's labored breathing were audible anymore. But why? He was in the same room as them, so how exactly-
Shit- It finally clicked to him. He had been moved away from Mizuki and Jack. He may have even been in an entirely different place by now, considering that all the signs pointed to it being the case.
"Jack? Mizuki? Where are you guys?!" Y/n screamed out into the nothingness, desperately calling out for his friends. And, as he feared, no one answered back.
Who would protect them now? With Y/n gone, their chances of survival went from low to nonexistent, more so in the case of Jack. He had to find a way back as fast as possible. If he didn't they would surely di-
His hair stood on their ends, and goosebumps began showing on his skin. A shiver ran down his spine as he froze in place, holding his breath as best as he could.
"Ha... Ha..."
Something had just breathed down his neck.
_ _ _
The attacks had stopped, much to the relief of the red-haired girl.
Mizuki didn't know how long it had been since Y/n disappeared, but it didn't matter. He was strong enough by himself, and she was sure that he could take care of himself in this place. Out of the three, he had the best chances of survival alone, a fact that she couldn't deny. Still, him disappearing worried her so badly.
But it didn't matter why, where, when, or how Y/n vanished- all that mattered to her right now was the deathly pale male sitting against the wall in front of her, and she could do nothing to help him. She hated how useless she was, and she hated herself more for getting them into the predicament they were in now. If Y/n was the one left behind here, he might've already thought of a way to help Jack.
Mizuki was unsure of how long Jack had been bleeding out now, and all she had done so far was cry as he was slowly but surely dying from blood loss. She did try finding anything to help with, but Jack requested her to stay by him while he was awake. His request broke her- Jack was already preparing for his end.
It's all my fault, It's all my fault, It's all my fault- she'd repeatedly tell herself, before feeling a shaky hand rest on top of her own.
Jack, even as he was suffering - even as he was dying, would console her. He was so selfless that he'd worry about her more than himself.
"Don't... blame yourself. It's... not... your fault," Jack said in a hushed voice. His strength had long disappeared by then, and all he was waiting for was for his imminent death to come. Although, he hoped that Mizuki and Y/n would find a way out of there. Even if he wouldn't leave this place, he didn't want the other two to meet the same fate that he would.
"But... how can't I?" Mizuki, in a rare moment of vulnerability, began crying in front of Jack. She hated how weak the usually strong-willed male looked with his sunken cheeks and how dull his eyes were, "I-I caused this. I'm so, so, so fucking stupid. Why didn't I just listen to you guys?"
"Mizuki-"
"No!" Mizuki sobbed louder, her tears falling to the floor as she refused to look Jack in the eyes, "You're dying because of me! All because I wanted to do something as shitty and stupid as ghost hunting! I... Why couldn't it be me instead?"
"Please..." Jack said, but Mizuki interrupted him again.
"You're one of the smartest, most hardworking, and most incredible guys I know," Mizuki poured her heart out, fearing that this may be the last time she'd ever talk to Jack. "You're surely in for a great future. But what am I compared to that? A sleazy, no good, annoying bitch whose only real achievement was becoming friends with you and Y/n."
Jack gulped, mustering the strength to talk as he stared at the girl, "I'm... not dead yet. Mi..zuki, can you tell me... a joke?" he requested in hopes of distracting Mizuki from her self-destructive thoughts. His breaths were shallow, even as he tried to inhale as deeply as he could.
"Huh..?" Mizuki, not expecting Jack's weird request, couldn't help but look at him like he was crazy, "Are... are you serious?"
Jack nodded, so Mizuki tried thinking of something on the spot, "Uhm, I- I only know 25 letters of the alphabet."
Jack asked, "Why..?"
"Oh, thanks for reminding me," Mizuki forced herself to chuckle, but she cringed at her own joke. Surprisingly, though, Jack giggled at it, his head resting against the wall as he looked at her with a weak smile.
"Ah..." Jack breathed in. The pain was gone by then, but it was replaced with cold. Everything felt so, so cold, and he was so tired. It didn't help that his blood had soaked his clothes, making it even worse. "Good... one."
All he wanted was to close his eyes and sleep, but he couldn't imagine how Mizuki would feel if he were to do that. He didn't want to leave the girl all alone either. So, as best as he could, he forced himself to stay awake.
"Could you... tell me another one?" he requested once again.
Mizuki prevented herself from sobbing more, biting her lower lip as she forcibly recollected herself. There must have been a reason why Jack would ask for something so stupid now, but she had no reason to deny his requests. Just as she was about to tell her joke, she heard a disgusting squelching sound coming from beyond the ER's doors. There was something huge outside, the ground shaking was a clear sign of it.
One second, then five, then half a minute passed without anything happening. She had positioned herself in between Jack right after she picked up a scalpel from a surgical tray near them. But what could she even do with it?
Mizuki looked at Jack over her shoulders and saw that his condition had worsened by the second, and it took all of her will to prevent herself from crying again. Jack was staring at nothing and was muttering something under his breath. It was just loud enough that she was able to hear the words, "Mom... dad..." from him.
Then, the ER doors slammed open, and something that looked akin to a large caterpillar moved into the room. It seemed to have immediately located them when it turned its body towards them, using its large, singular foot to slowly crawl at the two.
Mizuki began shaking- a mixture of fear and frustration-as she saw it approaching them. She pointed the scalpel at the creature, but she knew it wouldn't make any difference. When the creature suddenly stood at its full height, preparing to crush them, all she could do was close her eyes.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry Jack! She had given up without even fighting back, and it seemed like Jack wouldn't be the only one to meet his end here. She waited for her inevitable demise; being crushed by a god damned disgusting large bug.
But it never came.
_ _ _
Y/n refused to die.
Even as his body took gruesome punishment from something within the darkness, he refused to give it the satisfaction of breaking him. He still had to make it pay for what it did to Jack, he still had to get his friends out of there, and he still had to go back home to his Nana. So until then, there was no way in hell that he would drop dead like a coward.
His fear was intense, but his will to live burned brighter.
"Shit-" Y/n crossed his arms just in time in front of him again, and something hit him, flinging him across the seemingly non-existent floor. While it felt like there was none, he sure felt the impact while landing on it every single time. "God damn it..."
Y/n's breaths became labored from the constant hits he had taken, his arms stinging from the one that had just landed on him. But before he could take a breather, he felt something approach him from the left, making him roll out of the way just in time as it whizzed past his head.
The past few minutes had been like this- get hit, rest, dodge, and repeat. While it hadn't necessarily fatigued him yet, he was starting to get annoyed. It wasn't so much of a fair fight, considering that he couldn't see, feel, or hear any of its attacks before they were right next to him. It felt like the shadows wrapped around him constantly, making him misjudge where the blows would come from most of the time.
"Stop being such an ass!" He randomly threw a punch with all his might to the right when he heard something approaching, and to his surprise, he had actually hit something. He smiled once he thought he had finally landed a hit, but his joy disappeared when he was whipped in the stomach and thrown away. That was the strongest one so far.
Y/n rolled on the ground harshly, making him hurl once he was able to stop himself. It felt like a truck hit his stomach, and the pain lingered longer than any of the other ones.
He was going to die at the rate the "fight" was going, so he had to think of a plan to possibly escape. But was that even possible? It felt like there was no exit within this place.
Less thinking, Y/n forced himself to stand up, more preparing! Like Jack said.
He knew whatever was in the dark wasn't necessarily stronger than him, as evidenced by him still standing. But it still packed a punch, and because he'd been deprived of his senses, it just made its attacks harder to dodge, causing the fight to become even worse for him.
Y/n carefully stood up, bracing himself for another excruciating blow. He silently prayed to any being up there that he would survive this encounter, even if it seemed to be nigh impossible.
A few seconds of silence passed as he waited for something to start gunning for him. When he thought there was none, something suddenly grabbed his leg, violently throwing him into what he thought was a wall head first.
There was an intense ringing in Y/n's head as he sat against the wall. He was unable to focus, and he felt like the world had begun to spin. He tried to stand once again, but his legs momentarily gave out, making him sit back down.
Holy hell... Y/n clutched his head as he tried to recollect himself. That attack had shaken him to his core, and his head was pounding. It was safe to say he might've gotten a concussion from that.
Y/n, while breathing in deeply, wondered how Mizuki and Jack were faring without him. He hoped that they were doing better on their side, but hope was useless in this place. They were against something that none of them could handle.
If they did get out of there, all he wanted to do was go back to Jack's home and play on his PS4. Mizuki would constantly pester Jack whenever he and Y/n played Tekken, calling him various nicknames like salad fingers or lawnmower- he didn't know how those made sense to the girl, but it just did.
Yeah, that sounds nice, he'd tell himself.
Something barely visible from within the dark took Y/n's attention, making him focus as best as he could on it. Two, dim, white lights popped up from afar, and if he was correct, the outline of a bony body came with it, hunched up as it sat.
The lights slowly turned towards him, and he could finally see a face- it looked old like it was a mummy of some sort. But it lacked the features to make it look human- ears and nose were missing, and it sported a dark, crooked smile.
Oh hell no- Y/n forced himself to stand up, feeling his heart start pounding when it used its lanky legs to start approaching him. He felt light-headed, but he was okay enough to defend himself if it came to-
It was suddenly face-to-face with Y/n. He hadn't seen it move. It smiled wider, and its mouth appeared to be a dark void. Its lanky fingers pressed against his face, causing him to freeze in place.
".. Mar...velous..." it stuttered, its neck snapping as it moved around to look at him. Its voice was deep and raspy, and the shadows started to seep into it, "You are still... alive."
Every time it spoke, a shadowy smoke seeped from its mouth, "You... are different. Shall we... play a game?"
How could it talk so fluently? What was he even fighting against?
It violently shoved Y/n through the wall, making him roll across the ground into another room. While Y/n was removing the rubble from his clothes, he felt his hair be pulled up by the thing.
"Let go of me!" Y/n kicked the bony creature on its torso before it could strike him. While he successfully shoved it away, it didn't seem to take any damage, and laughed.
"Wonderful..!" it laughed while smoke seeped from its skin onto the floor, wrapping around Y/n afterward. "You have no cursed energy!"
Y/n would have broken free from its grasp, but it hit his stomach with a shadowy tendril, making him gasp for air.
"What do you hope... to accomplish?" It asked Y/n, making him frown as he spat his saliva at it.
"Eat shit, fuck hea-"
It suddenly threw Y/n through another wall and followed up by punching him to the ground, making him bounce from the force. Y/n hissed in pain and punched it first in the face with all his strength, but it spun around to back-fist him away.
Why am I not hurting it?! Y/n wondered, spitting out blood from his busted lip. He had clearly hit it head-on, but it shrugged him off like he was nothing.
He didn't know if what was attacking him was a spirit. After all, his necklace wasn't even enough to ward it off. Considering that all the other ones seemed to stray away from him whenever he wore the accessory, it was likely that because it was stronger, it could resist it- or it may not even be one at all.
Fuck it, I'm desperate, Y/n removed his necklace and wrapped it around his right hand, using it as a knuckle. Even if it didn't work, the beads would still make his punches hurt more. If there was one thing he learned from the internet, it was to use any resource available in a battle.
Sorry, Grandpa, Nana! Y/n apologized internally, But I'll have to mess up this thing.
While he had been preparing for it to pop up once again, all the beds within the room were thrown at him, making him dodge just in time. All five failed to hit their mark, but he was suddenly slapped back into the ground when it appeared behind him.
Was it fast? That couldn't have been the case. He could clearly track its movements, but it somehow always caught him off guard.
It began to maniacally laugh, taunting Y/n, "You're weak... yet strong. What a... living contradiction! Come... on, struggle more."
Y/n despised how hopeless he was. It was the first time in his life that he had truly lost hope in winning a struggle, and all he had been doing was prolonging his loss. All his life, he could brute force his way through fights, considering how much stronger he was compared to everyone, but this time was different.
So, as fast as he could, he jumped towards the creature, his necklace-equipped fist already reeled back. He had expected to hit it but phased through when it turned into smoke and got kicked from behind.
"What... a sloppy punch!" it sent two tendrils at Y/n but failed to slam him on the floor as he resisted, snapping the shadowy materials, "How pitiful... are you sorcerers nowadays?! Do they... not teach you... how to fight? Wild attacks won't meet... their mark!"
Y/n chose to ignore it, knowing that talking back to it would be fruitless. His body ached, and his clothes ripped apart from its brutal onslaught. But Y/n smirked.
It dodged me- It had dodged him. It ignored any of his other attacks, but when he decided to finally use the necklace, it suddenly didn't want to be hit by him. Was it actually a spirit? If so, that was great news!
"I hope this works," Y/n gulped, hoping his hunch was correct, and the spirit tilted his head as it gazed at him.
Without warning, Y/n tossed the necklace at the spirit, who chuckled at his useless efforts. When it tried to move after being almost hit, Y/n showed up from behind and slapped it towards the necklace, causing it to scream in pain as the accessory landed on its face.
"Not so funny now, huh?! Little bi-" Y/n's taunts were cut short when he was violently hit again. This time, he couldn't tell where the attack had come from because the darkness had covered him again.
He was forced to shield his body in desperation as several of the tendrils showered down on him. This time, the attacks were more numerous and more powerful.
This hurts! Y/n grit his teeth as he defended his head. All of the hits made his body scream in pain, but if his head was the one damaged, it would be game over.
The room became less dim and more normal as the darkness faded. Though Y/n saw that as a good sign, he collapsed in agony as a powerful punch connected to his midsection. But before he was able to react, another struck him in the head, dazing him.
"How... dare you?" It asked, clutching the side of its face which had burns, "I decided to play... with you, and you... repay me like this? Did you think... that your pathetic cursed tool... would be enough to exorcise me? I held back... so we could enjoy it!"
Everything it said echoed in Y/n's head, and his vision blurred. He tried focusing on it, but the blow to his head was too strong to recover from quickly. Y/n tried reaching for his necklace, which was barely out of his reach, but it began to stomp on his body repeatedly, laughing in joy as it did so.
The darkness began expanding, and sharp tendrils hovered just above him as he laid stomach down. The spirit's grin grew tenfold as it enjoyed the suffering it gave him. He was so exhausted, and his lack of useful combat knowledge bit him in the ass. Damn him and his lazy self.
Y/n tried standing again, but his arms gave away before he could. He closed his eyes, ready to feel the excruciating pain of him getting impaled.
So this is it, huh? Y/n chuckled to himself, sensing the tendrils start to approach him fast.
Sorry, Nana, I don't think I'll be returning home... Just as he had given up, a blinding light obscured his blurry vision, followed by a few footsteps around him. He heard someone talking, but who was it? He tried looking from the corner of his eyes, but all he could see was a mass of blurry white. And then, he heard...
"Curse... ique... ampl... Blue."
There was a flash of blue light, and then darkness.
_ _ _
Author's Comment: Oh my god, that took so long.
And for the people who might say how pathetic MC was in the "fight," remember: He has had no training and is basically a normal kid (Well, minus the HR). Compared to Toji (Basically a trained monster since his childhood) and Maki (who has had actual combat experience), bro will be pathetic. His durability saved him in that encounter.
I suspect we'll be at JJK high by the next chapter, or the one after it, so we'll finally meet the previous first years! (Which is Yuta's batch).
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!