The walls were dripping with damp and the bitter smell of mildew clung to every surface of the windowless room. Most of the floorboards had rotted through, creating a mesh of chewed-up wood and exposing the copper pipes that ran beneath the house. Thick swathes of cobwebs were strung from the rafters, brushing the top of your head as you tried to duck beneath them. 

The camera in your hands felt heavy as you swept it around the room, the dim grey light of your companion's torch struggling to illuminate through the thick shadows that coalesced at your feet.

You sidestepped the remains of what appeared to be a dead rat, nothing but grey bones and clumps of rotting flesh. "Nothing here," you mumbled, your voice quickly swallowed up by the shadows as you panned the camera once more around the room, capturing nothing but cobwebs and dust mites drifting solemnly from the rafters. A splintered piece of wood cracked sharply beneath your heel as you stepped back onto it, listening to the noise echo around the small room with a grimace. "Let's just go back to the others," you said, switching off the camera to preserve the battery. "The sooner we're done here, the sooner we can go home."

Akaashi nodded silently, his face appearing lucid in the darkness, all pale skin and dark hair matted down with sweat. You imagined you didn't look much better. The house had that same strange humidity to it, the air feeling damp and sticky against your skin.

As you followed him out of the room, your attention fixed on tightening your camera strap, you almost walked right into the back of him as he stopped suddenly in his tracks. The air abruptly stilled around you, as if the room had taken a collective breath, and you felt gooseflesh break out across the back of your neck. "What is it?" You whispered, standing so close to the boy that your voice stirred the back of his hair. The passage ahead of you was doused in shadow, the flashlight pointing down at Akaashi's feet. Nothing stirred.

Akaashi ignored your question, standing in silence with his head cocked as if listening out for something. After a moment, he shrugged. "Nothing. Just thought I heard something," he mumbled, flashing you a sideways glance. There was a shadow between his brows that had not been there before.

"Probably just the others," you said with a shrug. "Come on. It stinks in here and I'd rather not stay any longer than I have to."

"Me either," Akaashi agreed, lifting the torch once more to illuminate the way back down the low-ceilinged corridor. The door was still closed at the end, but you felt something was off before you even reached it. The corridor felt impossibly long, as if the door kept stretching further away the closer you got. When Akaashi finally pushed it open, you followed him into the room where the others were supposed to be waiting for you. Only now it was empty.

"Ugh, those idiots. They were supposed to wait here for us," you grumbled, pinching the bridge of your nose in annoyance. "I knew they'd do something like this." But something still didn't feel right. The other door, which still hung ajar, revealed no movement within, and you couldn't hear them further on in the house either. That's when you noticed Akaashi's silence too. When you turned to face him, you realised he was stood a short distance away from you, unmoving. His head was angled downwards, as if he was staring at something by his feet. You swallowed past the lump that had formed in your throat. "Akaashi?"

When he didn't respond, you moved closer. Sweat had begun to accumulate in your palms and you wiped your hands absently down the front of your jeans. "Akaashi? You okay?"

His silence was unnerving, and you felt your steps falter as you approached him, squinting to see what he was staring at. It wasn't until you drew level with his shoulder did you finally see what it was...

* * *

Ten hours earlier

"No. There is no way I'm agreeing to this." You folded your arms and stared unabashedly at the six-foot male in front of you, leaning against the doorway with a lazy smile flickering across his lips. "You know me, Kuroo. Did you really think I'd go along with this?"

"Oh, come on [L/N]. It's just a bit of fun," Kuroo teased, the corners of his mouth crinkling further. "I thought you'd be up for it. But if you're too scared..."

"I'm not scared. That has nothing to do with this," you said quickly, shifting your weight. "I don't believe in ghosts, so there's nothing to be scared of."

"But that's exactly why we want you to come!" Kuroo said, spreading his hands. "No paranormal investigation is complete without a sceptic."

You pursed your lips thoughtfully. "I thought Akaashi-San was going with you? Surely he doesn't believe in all of this... supernatural nonsense?"

Kuroo gave you a pointed look. "You'd be surprised," he muttered, pushing himself off from the doorframe to lean closer. A student walking past the classroom caught your eye for a brief moment, and then quickly looked away, embarrassed. "And anyway, you're the only one who has experience with cameras. You're a sceptic and photographer, all in one. We need you."

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," you scoffed, waving him away. "There's plenty of people around who are both. It's simply more convenient for you if nobody else thinks you're a dumbass for investigating a haunted house."

Kuroo let out a long breath, his shoulders hunching forward. "Look, [L/N], I'm not going to force you to come. But there's a lot of weird rumours about this place, and I really want to check it out. It would be a real bonus if you came with us."

"You're a real flatterer, aren't you?" You muttered, chewing over his words. You had little interest in the investigation itself, but Kuroo has been a good friend to you over the past few years, and you felt like you owed him at least this. "You really don't have anyone else you can ask?"

Kuroo shook his head earnestly. "I wouldn't be in this situation if I did."

"And this whole thing really means that much to you?"

He shrugged. "I guess."

You pushed back your hair with a sigh. "Fine, fine, I'll do it. Beats an evening doing nothing I suppose."

"[LN], you're a lifesaver," Kuroo said with a goofy grin he only ever showed his friends. "We're meeting outside the school at ten o'clock tonight. Don't be late."