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The easiest thing to do would have been to return home and write off the cell phone as lost, but this time Arataka was sure that it would be months before his parents would buy him another one. Since the last argument with his father, he seemed to have given up and the only response Taka had found was complete neglect. Even his mother seemed exhausted from putting up with his nonsense.
Taka didn't know whether to be grateful for feeling like a nobody at home. It was the only thing that explained why he had been able to spend so much time with Serizawa the past few months. Taka had long since grown tired of trying to compare himself to the golden child. If it didn't seem right to his mother that he was a nuisance to Serizawa's family, she hadn't bothered to tell him either.
For a moment, he wished Serizawa were there with him.
It was absurd. Taka knew for a fact that there was nothing there. Kageyama-san had seen to that. But the feeling of apprehension was no less real for it. The cell phone couldn't even have ended up that far away. It was just going to be in and out. What was the worst that could happen? Arataka walked up to the door and peered inside through the gaps left by the wooden planks lining it. The darkness barely let him see anything but for a moment he thought he saw the silhouette of his phone on the floor.
"Really?" Taka sighed, throwing himself down on the landing and reaching out under the rotting planks. The gravel was digging into his side and the dust made him sneeze.
For a second, he brushed the device with his fingertips. Just a little more and he could forget about that cursed place for the rest of his life.
"Fuck" Taka cursed himself as he noticed how it slipped past him, sliding even further away.
Without much spirit, he stood up, shaking the dust and grit from his pants and jacket. The planks were rotten, after too much time out in the open without any maintenance. Taka tried pulling and kicking at them until he managed to break through. Just in and out. Nothing more.
***
After juggling trying not to prick himself with any rusty nails or broken wood splinters Arataka found himself inside the house. A shiver ran down his spine. Cobwebs had gathered in the corners of the ceiling and weeds had even broken some of the floor tiles.
Taka moved forward slowly wishing he had never had to set foot in that place again. Even without seeing it, the door leading to the basement seemed to lurk from his subconscious.
"There's nothing." Taka repeated aloud to himself. "Don't be an idiot. There's nothing and you're not ten years old anymore."
His footsteps were outlined in the dust that covered the entire floor. Taka bent down to pick up the phone when a black shadow ran almost brushing against his hand.
The scream would have chilled anyone.
Taka fell backwards, all his weight falling on his left foot. The pain almost made him scream again. The cockroach scurried off at last. Cold sweat trickled down his forehead, he wasn't quite sure if it was from the fright or the pain. Or maybe both. With trouble he tried to get to his feet. His ankle was twisting in a strange direction.
The door to the entrance seemed too far away and the basement door too close. The thought of standing there another minute only made him more and more nervous. Mogami wasn't there. Nothing was going to happen. As soon as he got his phone he could call Serizawa and everything would be fine.
Everything was going to be fine.
Taka had the impression that he had forgotten how to breathe. Crawling he managed to barricade himself against one of the walls of the dining room. What if there were more cockroaches? Kageyama-san had exorcised any trace of Mogami's spirit. There was nothing there that could harm him. Only his memories. Nothing was more dangerous than his imagination. Taka bit his hand trying to keep himself in the present. Tears seemed to struggle to escape. He wasn't the same pathetic kid he had been... There was nothing. There was nothing. It was just his own fears. His mind being a motherfucker. But there was nothing.
Taka looked around. The walls of the dining room seemed to be missing any trace of the peeling paint. The cement color of the scratchy basement walls rose around him.
He just needed his phone.
Taka closed his eyes and tried to breathe. He didn't know how long he'd spent lost in his own memories but the cold numbed his hands and he could barely notice his face. He had been a fool to think he was going to be able to do anything right. He was barely able to see anything through the tears and pain but Arataka managed to crawl over to the cell phone. It was comforting to hold it in his hands again. He barely dared to unlock the screen. Mogami could come back at any moment. What if Serizawa ended up in that hellhole with him? Taka went back to huddling against the wall as if it would be able to protect him from anything.
His hands were shaking as he tried to find Katsuya's number among his contacts. He felt as if he had lost three hours of his life, lost in his own mind. His eyes stung, tears sliding down his cheeks. The dial tones seemed to drag on forever.
Katsuya's voice didn't even seem real when he finally answered.
Taka bit his lip. He didn't know if the words would come out when he finally managed to open his mouth.
"K-Katsuya, do you think you could come get me? S-sorry, I know I don't...b-but...p-please?"