The Build Up: House of Horrors Part 3

Back to - 7:45 AM

Furuya is too consumed by his discovery of Miyuki's shirt to notice that Miyuki has returned from the convenience store.

It was laying on the floor and he had picked up because it was calling out to him. He wasn't too sure of it either, but his body was acting strangely and it only strengthened when he lifted the shirt to his nose.

His nostrils were instantly smacked with a smell he was unable to distinguish finely. He could only categorize it as pleasant and calming, yet strong and enticing. It soothed him, yet his body heat soared not in fever but arousal. The longer he sniffed the more he felt his being tingling with a peculiar desire to touch Miyuki.

That desire was fulfilled when Miyuki crouched next to him and brushed his thumb along his cheek.

"Hey, you're not dead yet, right?" he asks.

Furuya lied to himself when he said his desire was fulfilled. That wasn't nearly enough to satiate his thirst for skinship.

He leaves Miyuki's question unanswered as it was quite obvious that his fever was still tormenting him. He groans as Miyuki struggles to prop him upright, placing a pillow between him and the wall.

The catcher searches through his bag of items and retrieves a bottle of water and medicine. He opens the water and pops a pill from its case and hands them to Furuya.

"I won't do everything for you just because you're my guest," he says half-jokingly, "Here."

Furuya breathes heavily before swallowing his medicine. The water glides down easily and so does the pill and he wishes hard for it to take effect immediately but it doesn't. He falls back down to the bed and moans.

Miyuki's brow raises. Furuya is taking a hearty sniff of his shirt and releases another moan, a specific sound he knows all too well.

It's the sound he made back at Masuda's Karaoke Bar.

"Um," Miyuki starts, unsure how to deliver his words, "Why do you have the shirt I took off before leaving? If you get snot all over it, you're going to deal with something much worse than a fever. Hey, are you listening to me?"

"Miyuki-senpai."

His reply curt, it catches the bespectacled teen off guard, "What?"

'I want you to touch me,' is what Furuya wishes would roll off his tongue as easily as it came to mind.

Saying it would upset the civil balance they've forged so far and he couldn't risk such an improvement. His imagination would have to do for now.

Furuya says never mind and readjusts himself before dozing off.

--

3:00 PM

Miyuki is busy reheating last night's dinner.

He was tempted to go and purchase ingredients for a proper lunch, but being responsible for Furuya's safety meant he couldn't leave him in the house unprotected again. It's more of a chore than a dutiful act, but knowing how conniving his father was, he was left with no other option.

As he waits for the microwave to go off, he buries his face in his hands and submerges himself deep in thought.

Tonight's the night he and Furuya reveal all to his father. He was the one who initially vouched for the idea, yet there were a staggering amount of drawbacks the more he truly understood what he was getting himself into.

Kazuhiko, the senile old fool who was partially responsible for his calamitous childhood, would take the opportunity to spin the blame onto him. He wouldn't take the time to sympathize or apprehend the sheer weightiness of this situation.

Yes, Kazuhiko would welcome Furuya's pregnancy with open, bladed arms and suffocate them in his hellish hold until they lost their breath.

His father is a demon, but Miyuki knows this deed has to be done before he and Furuya can advance to the second stage of their journey. He doesn't need his father's approval; he simply needs to say what has to be said and leave everything behind.

The microwave chimes for the second time, Miyuki having been so consumed in thought that he missed it the first time.

Getting up from the dining table, he trips over the mop that's leaning against the counter. He picks it up and ponders, 'What's this mop doing here?'

Footsteps.

Miyuki whips his head around and with devilish timing, Kazuhiko walks into the kitchen, wiping his hands with an oil-spotted rag.

"Oh, there it is," he says, "I've spilled some water in the garage. Would you mind handing me that mop?"

"What is it doing here? This is the bathroom mop. We have a mop designated for the kitchen and the kitchen only. What is the bathroom mop doing here? You're not old enough to be losing your marbles just yet...or am I mistaken?"

Kazuhiko is silent as he struggles to remember how the bathroom mop ended up in the wrong place.

Furuya, the water, yeah. It comes back to him in flashes.

"Your friend wanted some water earlier today," he says. He quickly kills a grin as Miyuki's features drop in the all-too-familiar expression known as horror, "I happened to be in the same place so I offered to pour him a cup, but you know, old people and their fragile bodies. I spilled some water and got a bit anxious, so I used the bathroom mop instead."

The microwave chimes thrice.

"You should get that. Smells good. Is that last night's curry? I had some before I went to bed last night. It was delicious."

Kazuhiko's talking to no one.

Miyuki had sprinted into his room some time ago, and the old man whistles as he stops the microwave, takes the mop, and shuffles back to the garage.

--

"You're making everything ten times more difficult than it needs to be and I honestly don't appreciate it," Miyuki gripes, "It's as if you want me to have a mental breakdown and crumble into pieces right in front of you because that's what we're supposed to be doing, right?

"Getting to know each other and breaking down the walls that prevent us from bonding as future parents, right? I think you want that. Why didn't you listen to me before I left for the convenience store?"

By some miracle, the miracle being Miyuki's shirt, Furuya has recovered from his fever entirely. He's fully alert and fully concerned about the catcher's menacing glare.

"I was thirsty," he explains.

"Couldn't you have waited?" Miyuki snaps back instantly, "You were too feverish to be moving around anyway. You could have collapsed and had something happen to you. You know what, forget it. Well, you saw my father, huh? Did he do anything to harm you? Are you okay?"

"Make up your mind. You keep darting between being angry and being worried and I'm not certain which one is genuine. You're giving me mixed signals."

Miyuki scoffs, "I do not deserve this attitude. I'm serious, Furuya. I'm trying to keep sane and you're nudging me towards a cliff I will fall off of."

"All your father did was pour me a glass of water."

He omits the butcher knife.

"That's it?"

"He zoned out and spilled some on me. Why are you prying? Do you think he did something strange like you warned?"

"He did exactly that and I can see the fear in your eyes. Don't play dumb. Tell me, Furuya. What did my father do?"

Furuya holds Miyuki's shirt close to his chest. It's comforting, but not enough to lessen the trepidation that threads its way into his body as Kazuhiko's exaggerated face bubbles up to the surface of his memory.

"It was strange," he says, "He appeared out of thin air. I couldn't see because I was dizzy, but I should have been able to hear his footsteps. I didn't. He was talking weirdly, like a robot.

"He kept repeating his words as if he were an alien practicing human language. He poured the water but didn't stop. He didn't respond until I called him by his first name. Then…he started talking about the past. It was strange."

"What did he say?" Miyuki asks.

"He referred to you as it. She gave birth to it. She loved it. We loved it. He sounded very emotionally detached from reality and it frightened me. He did nothing outlandish towards me yet I felt so vulnerable. Miyuki-senpai, remember that incident where I thought your dad appearing behind me was my imagination?"

"Yes."

"I don't think it was. The words he said were definitely my imagination, but he was there. I know it. I don't feel safe here."

"Do you want to leave?"

"I'll purchase our tickets to Hokkaido right now if I have to."

"Alright. Hold out for a bit, okay? We'll leave after our conversation with my dad. Let's pack up our belongings and go to the kitchen."

--

3:20 PM

Furuya stares at the family photo while Miyuki fetches his dad in the garage.

How Kazuhiko will react is a shrouded unknown and the further he delves into numerous possibilities, the more he dreads what is to come.

No amount of possibilities can prepare him for the real thing.

"Dad," Miyuki says, and Furuya perks up.

Kazuhiko steps over the threshold with his rag and wipes his work-ridden hands with it.

"I have to finish this job before the client comes," he says grumpily, "What's the matter? Why are you calling me?"

Miyuki stands next to Furuya and places a reassuring hand on the small of his back.

"Sit down. We need to talk to you."