Keyhole
by: RoyaleDeuce

Disclaimer: TeniPuri is not mine. And the plotline is based on a famous Philippine Urban Legend.
Warning: AU. Really scary (?) Well, it freaked me out big time. Character death.

The rickety floorboards creaked as soon as she stepped foot on the porch of the old Victorian house. The house was like one of the box-office horror flicks' setting. She shivered at the thought and coldness of the night.

A gust of wind blew past her face quite roughly, with several stray leaves caught in her hair. She hastily pulled them out one by one before smoothing out her curls and freeing her clothes from any unwanted wrinkles. She caught sight of what seemed like a small button protruding the yellowing wall and ambled towards it instantly. She really wanted to get out of the cold, so without further ado, pushed the button.

DIIING DOOONG

The deep, bellowing sound echoed throughout the night. She rubbed her arms at the chilly sensation.

Ryuuzaki Sakuno didn't expect that her God-given anomaly of being so terrible in directions would bring her this far. What she thought was a shortcut back home turned out to be a shortcut towards the middle of nowhere. If only she hadn't been ranting with her boyfriend over the phone, she would have paid more attention to where she was heading. And her waterfall of tears didn't help her driving at all.

Stupid Ryoma-kun! It's all his fault...

BOOM!

She jerked at the sudden grumble of the sky. Heavy raindrops started to pound on the roof of the house, and the earthen smell reached her olfactory senses.

She sighed. She was lost. Her phone was dead bat. Now it started to rain, so her chances of getting home took a fantastic nosedive. And the owner of the house hadn't even opened their door yet! Could her night get any worse?

Is there anyone living in here?

Approaching one of the windows, she peered inside and caught a faint glimmer of light. If only the curtain wasn't drawn together, she'd have a better view. Determined, she checked the other window. But again, she was disappointed for she saw nothing but pitch black. Then at a tiny corner of the window, she saw a tiny hole she could look into. Delighted, she quickly lowered her eye in level with the hole. She still couldn't discern any figure; however, it was a different colour that greeted her this time.

Blood red.

Odd, she straightened, finally giving up on trying to make out anything through the windows.

CREEEEAAAAK

Not later than a split moment, Sakuno was already positioned behind a nearby pillar when the front door was wide open.

"Who's there?"

Bewildered with the ethereal voice, she bobbed her head to the side and was taken aback.

Standing by the doorway was a bishounen with blue locks running way down to his chin. It did not take long for him to notice her behind the post, staring at him as if she had just seen a ghost. The beautiful blue-haired stranger looked over his shoulder to see if something had scared the girl. He saw nothing.

"Are you alright, miss?" he asked kindly.

"W-Who are you?" Were the words that came out of a dumfounded Ryuuzaki Sakuno's mouth.

The young man raised his eyebrows. "I live here," he replied simply. "Though I think I should be the one asking that question..." he smiled.

Sakuno immediately pushed herself away from the pillar and approached the smiling young man rather embarrassedly. "Sorry about that. I-It's just that I didn't expect a young man like you... would be living in such a rundown house in the middle of nowhere," She shyly looked up to gaze at the amused boy in front of her. "My name is Ryuuzaki Sakuno."

"Yukimura Seiichi," The blue-haired said while extending his hand for a brief but warm handshake. "Is there anything I could do for you, Ryuuzaki-san?"

Sakuno blushed but braved herself to speak. "Well... I-I was hoping if you'd spare me a room for tonight."

As Sakuno tailed the kind, young man named Yukimura down the well-lit hallway, she wondered why the inside of the house was furnished and well-kept when its facade (as she had seen a while ago) screamed of old age and danger.

"You may be wondering why the inside of the house contrasts how you first saw it," Yukimura smiled over his shoulder, causing Sakuno to snap from her trance. "It's to ward off people, specifically girls actually..." he explained enigmatically before returning to look to where he was going.

Sakuno's eyebrows knotted. "W-Ward off people?"

"You're really not supposed to be here."

The girl stopped dead in her tracks as a shiver ran down her spine.

"Genichirou... don't scare Ryuuzaki-san like that," Yukimura lightly scolded the taller man who just popped out of nowhere. "Sorry about that. Ryuuzaki Sakuno, meet Sanada Genichirou. Genichirou, this is Ryuuzaki-san."

Sakuno gave a polite bow towards the black-haired man standing at the end of the hallway.

He merely glared at her.

Sakuno cringed.

"Genichirou. Later please," Was Yukimura's plead before the tall man relented and left them alone.

Sakuno continued to stare at the retreating form of the other man before Yukimura ushered her to follow him once more for her room. There was an uncomfortable silence before Sakuno broke it.

"Uhm, Yukimura-san. What did you mean by 'to ward off people'?" Sakuno asked curiously while fidgeting with the hem of her blouse. "A-As Sanada-san said... am I really not supposed to be here? If that's the case, then I think it would be best if I go—"

"Stop talking nonsense, Ryuuzaki-san," Yukimura stopped walking. "Do you think you'll be able to go home in such an awful weather as this?" he asked impassively, once again, looking over his shoulder. The smile was gone though.

Sakuno immediately shook her head. She tried to look back calmly, but her mind was hysterical for all the contradictions the young man in front of her was relaying.

"Good you know." A smile graced his face again before they continued walking.

She noticed the several framed-pictures plastered on the walls with the familiar faces of Yukimura, Sanada, and an unknown boy with dark unruly hair. Then there was a picture wherein the anonymous boy was with a black-haired girl that looked frighteningly like her. She resisted the urge to feed her curiosity through questioning Yukimura.

Silence ensued until they finally reached the end of the hall.

"This is where you'll stay."

After Yukimura opened the door, a simple room with white-washed walls greeted her. There was a single bed on the far corner of the room, a desk lamp right beside it, and a tiny tv on top of a wooden dresser on the opposite side.

"It's not much, but I'll hope you be comfortable. If you need anything, don't be afraid to knock on my room which would be right over..." He pointed at the door opposite hers. "There."

Sakuno nodded. "Thank you."

But before the girl could even close the bedroom door, Yukimura pressed it right back against the wall. The girl was taken aback.

"But I ask only one thing from you..." Sakuno continued to gape at the suddenly serious Yukimura. "Do not open the door to the right of yours." He took the girl's hand and led her out to the hallway. "This door."

He regarded a normal-looking oak door.

Sakuno glanced at Yukimura's direction rather sceptically. But as she noted down the seriousness in his face, she promised that she wouldn't open the door no matter what. The least she could do was abide by the house owner's rules after all.

"Oh, and Ryuuzaki-san..."

Sakuno stopped midway from closing her bedroom door. "Yes?"

"You have a boyfriend, right?" Yukimura whispered.

Sakuno blushed at the randomness of his question. She hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"Good," he said, which perplexed Sakuno even more. "Good night then." He smiled.

"Good night."

Then she finally closed her door.

It was almost midnight and Sakuno still couldn't find herself dozing off.

While absentmindedly flipping through the channels of the tv in the room, her mind was plagued with thoughts of a certain Echizen Ryoma. It did not take long before she started crying again.

"Ryoma-kun..."

Sakuno gasped as lightning and thunder rolled in the sky.

And then it blacked out.

She heaved a sigh in the darkness. "I guess the heavens want me to sleep now," she mumbled to herself before shutting her eyes close and willed herself to sleep.

Minutes passed and the only thing that could be heard was the relentless pounding of the rain.

SCREEEECH

Sakuno jerked awake at the sudden racket.

SCREEEECH

Scrambling out of bed, she distanced herself away from the wall where the loud scratching sounds were coming from.

SCREEEECH

Covering her ears, she slid down the opposite wall and buried her head on her knees in an attempt to block the sound.

BANG BANG

Loud pounding on the wall was what followed right after.

BANG BANG

Immediately getting on her feet, she grasped in darkness for the door, slipping a few times in the process.

BANG BANG

After successfully finding it,she hurriedly turned the door knob and stepped out into the pitch black hallway.

And then it was silent.

The entire hallway was lit all of a sudden, revealing a pajama-clad Sanada on the opposite end of the hall. Both bewildered and terrified, she was on the brink of running towards the said young man when he spoke.

"It would have been the best if you left him alone."

Sakuno was flabbergasted. What? Did he mean Yukimura-san? "I-I wasn't going to disturb Yukimura-san... just so you know. It'd be rude waking him up at this hour," she managed to say after composing herself. "T-Though I doubt that he'd be left undisturbed after the incredibly loud scratching and pounding sounds..." she added almost reluctantly.

Sanada's eyes widened.

And just when Sakuno thought he was going to bite her head off, he said, "Do not open the door. Do not mind it. Pretend it's not even there."

Then he disappeared to his room, leaving Sakuno completely mind-boggled in the hallway.

After moments of contemplating on what to do, the only thing that crossed her mind to get to the bottom of the mystery was ask Yukimura about it in the morning.

But just as she stepped foot on the guest bedroom, the loud sounds started again.

With a resigned sigh, she opted to sleep in the hallway.

Unable to resist her nagging curiosity, she bent down towards the floor and tried peeking through. But the door completely touched the ground, leaving no small space to be able to see what's on the other side. Thinking of only one option left, she inched her face towards the keyhole of the door and peered inside.

She saw blood red for the second time that evening.

Left disappointed and fatigue finally starting to take its toll, she positioned herself comfortably on the floor with her arms as a pillow.

It did not take long for her to fall asleep.

It was during breakfast when Ryuuzaki Sakuno got to see both Yukimura and Sanada again. The smell of freshly baked eggs and bacon wafted throughout the kitchen and the sight of a bustling blue-haired young man by the stove welcomed her upon arrival. Sanada was busy grinding coffee by the other corner of the kitchen.

"Good morning, Ryuuzaki-san," Yukimura pleasantly smiled at the girl by the doorway. Then his eyebrows crunched together. "I was quite worried about you, finding you sleeping in the hallway this morning. I hope you did not mind me carrying you to my room as I found yours in terrible disarray?"

Sakuno shook her head. "Sorry for the mess and thank you for the concern..." she replied rather croakily. "But since the weather is better now, I think it would be best that I go..."

And that was the chosen moment of the sky to boom loudly again.

"...or not," Sanada said while taking a seat by the dining table. "Why do I have a feeling you'd never get out of here again..."

Yukimura gave him a sidelong glance that instantly shut him up. Then the blue-haired man turned to Sakuno. "I'm genuinely worried. Please. Take a seat and have your breakfast. And perhaps we can go over why you have such dark rings under your eyes..."

Sakuno took a seat. It was the opportune moment to get some answers after all.

Both Yukimura and Sanada glanced at each other the moment she ended recounting her last night experience.

"We're terribly sorry," Yukimura started which earned Sakuno's undivided attention. "We knew that something like that was going to happen." Sakuno gasped. "Well, it happened to every guest we had, so it's nothing unusual. But we could have at least warned you about it, so we apologize." Yukimura bowed his head.

Sakuno flailed her hands and insisted that they shouldn't apologize for they were very kind enough to let her stay anyway. "Uhm... B-But if I may... there is one thing I'd like to know..."

"Fire away." Yukimura smiled.

Sanada kept silent but gazed at her intently.

"Who's that guy in the picture?" she asked, pointing at a nearby picture with Yukimura, Sanada, and the unknown boy with unruly hair. She could feel the sudden tension. "What happened to him?"

There was silence.

"His name is Kirihara Akaya," Sakuno was surprised that it was Sanada who broke the silence and answered her question. "He was our former roommate. He died in his room, which would be the one beside yours, a few months ago."

Sakuno gazed back wide-eyed. "H-How'd he die?" she whispered softly.

It was Yukimura who answered this time. Sakuno noticed that the blue-haired young man seemed quite sensitive towards the topic. "After his girlfriend broke up with him for another guy, he stayed in his room for days. We left him to compose himself, thinking he'd be able to get over it, but we were wrong..." Yukimura's face started to pale. "Out of rage, he started scratching the walls until his hands became bloodied. He continuously pounded his room for nights..." The boy couldn't bring himself to continue any longer.

"We contacted the girl for the full story and found out that she was caught doing something she wasn't supposed to do with another guy. It was quite difficult making her confess, but she relented eventually," Sanada explained. "But Akaya wasn't contended with all the pounding and scratching..."

"He scratched his eyes out until they bled," Yukimura whispered.

"And he... he died," Sakuno ended mournfully.

There was silence for the second time.

"Do you wish to know anything else, Ryuuzaki-san?" Yukimura asked when Sakuno had grown pale.

"U-Uhm... Y-Yukimura-san…" Sakuno started shaking involuntarily as she stumbled over her words.

"Calm down, Ryuuzaki!" Sanada said while gripping Sakuno's wrist firmly and forced her to say what she wanted to say.

"Y-Yukimura-san..." Sakuno took a deep breath before speaking more steadily this time. "I-I don't know if this makes things bad, b-but I apologize for looking through the keyhole..."

"Sorry?" Yukimura asked bewildered. "Why do you need to be sorry, Ryuuzaki-san...? You did not open the door, didn't you? Who knows what could've happened if you did—"

A chill went down Sakuno's spine. "S-So his spirit still lives in that room." It was a statement.

Yukimura and Sanada regarded the girl concerned.

"You said that you have a boyfriend, right, Ryuuzaki-san?" Yukimura prodded. "If that's the case, then I don't think he'd be pestering you save for the usual happenings of pounding and scratching. That's one of the main reasons why I was complacent with letting you in last night. Because you're taken. And he couldn't take anything away from a living being..."

Sakuno obviously stiffened.

"R-Ryoma-kun and I have temporarily cooled off... d-does that make a difference?" She was afraid of the answer.

"No," Yukimura replied honestly. "But since you haven't really done anything to show that you're interested with him—"

"You seem to be forgetting that she looked through the keyhole," Sanada interrupted.

Yukimura turned to Sakuno with a look of worry. "Well... did you see anything?"

Sakuno hesitated before nodding. "Blood red."

Yukimura closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "We'll have to get you out of here now. Genichirou."

Sanada was already on his feet and headed to the garage to prepare the car. Yukimura quickly dumped the empty plates on the sink and then gently grabbed Sakuno's arm to lead her out.

"Y-Yukimura-san... w-what's happening?" Sakuno asked softly, almost too afraid to ask.

"He had taken interest towards you, and we need to get you back with Echizen Ryoma as soon as possible," Was his mere reply before ushering her to take a seat beside him.

He muttered a few words to Sanada before driving the car out. It was indeed raining, but it wasn't as strong as last night's typhoon. Sakuno couldn't really make out anything from the thick fog, but Yukimura seemed to know where he was going.

"Please call him and ask where he is." Yukimura handed Sakuno his phone. "I shouldn't have let you in last night..." he said apologetically and looked at Sakuno with a straight face. "You saw red, right?"

Sakuno nodded, but was too overwhelmed with everything happening to actually say anything. She shakily dialled Ryoma's number.

Yukimura returned his gaze towards where they were heading.

"You know... He was looking right back at you when you peered through the keyhole."

Sakuno dropped the phone.

The car machine continued to whine loudly as Yukimura tried opening the engine. Sakuno thought she'd faint at the gravity of the situation, knowing that there was an on the loose entity after her. Snapping her from her worries, Yukimura turned to her seriously.

"I'm getting help."

"W-What?!" she screamed and stared at Yukimura as if he'd just sprouted another head. "Y-You can't just go out there alone and leave me here—"

"Lock the door," Were his last words before heading out in that dark night.

Sakuno slumped back on her seat dejected, and wished that everything was just a nightmare. It had taken them the entire day to get out of the miles and miles of field and into the suburbs. Sakuno was right when she said she was in the middle of nowhere. Shutting her eyes close for a deep intake of breath, she hoped that Yukimura would be back real soon.

Minutes passed, and Yukimura hadn't returned.

It was about an hour later when someone started to approach the car. Sakuno was ecstatic at the return of Yukimura and beamed at his general direction... then her smile faded when she realized it wasn't Yukimura.

Goosebumps ran throughout her body.

Kirihara-kun... She started shaking when the unruly black-haired boy turned to her direction with bloody red eyes. There were big gashes running way down his sleek torso and once handsome face. He devilishly grinned at her when their eyes met.

No. Impulsively, she started checking if all doors of the car were locked. She was quite relieved when she found herself secure inside.

Upon reaching the car, he began scratching and pounding it, forcing himself in.

The auburn-head started screaming as the car was racked rather violently. She scampered towards the driver's seat and honked loudly, hoping that anyone near the vicinity would help her out. After more minutes of scratching, pounding, and honking... the young man outside the car seemed to have given up and walked away.

Sakuno grew relieved and thanked the heavens. The only thing that'd completely free her from her worries would be the return of Yukimura. Though Sakuno wondered how in the world a spirit could do such things that it made her wonder if Kirihara Akaya was really dead.

More minutes passed, and much to Sakuno's intense trepidation, Kirihara Akaya had returned.

Sakuno was already prepared to honk again, when what Kirihara Akaya had in his hands made her blood run cold.

In one of his hands raised, were Yukimura and Sanada's decapitated heads.

Sakuno screamed and leaned her head towards the car window for a better look. As she did so, Kirihara leaned his head towards the window as well and kissed the place where Sakuno's lips were. With the gesture, the auburn-head immediately backed away from Kirihara aghast, clinging to the last hope that he wouldn't be able to get in.

And it was when Kirihara raised his other hand, did Sakuno break into a hysterical scream.

The car keys dangled in his bloodied hand.

He shouldn't have argued with her last night. It was his fault for misunderstanding the situation. Countless times she had let pass his mistakes, but he never changed. Ryuuzaki Sakuno was the best girl for him: caring, understanding, selfless, and absolutely loving. Yet he took her for granted. After immediately seeing her laughing with another guy, he saw red. He was so rash as to make decisions he knew he'd regret.

The sirens of the police echoed loudly, snapping him from his present reverie.

"Echizen Ryoma, sir." A police man in his golden years approached him with a frown. "We found her."

After being led to the police-filled area, he stared horrified at what greeted him.

Lying helplessly on the ground, was a silently sobbing Sakuno rocking herself back and forth. A blanket draped over her lithe form. He inferred that she had been naked when found.

"Find the person who did this to her," Was Ryoma's cold command before taking his place beside the girl. "Sakuno..." The girl regarded him as if he was a complete stranger, her initial action to immediately push him away. Ryoma's insides knotted at the evident fear in her eyes.

Then, he gave a strangled sob when he heard what Sakuno continuously muttered.

"D-Don't... I love Ryoma-kun! Don't... I love Ryoma-kun!"

Echizen Ryoma may not have known what happened to his girlfriend. But all he knew was that Ryuuzaki Sakuno would never love another man but him.

A/N: Sucky ending, I know. I was actually about to cut it in the part when Kirihara dangled the keys, but I thought that it was too bitin. There was no conclusion or whatsoever. So I decided to make Ryoma appear. Lol. Hope you guys liked it! I finished writing this in the evening and I still have the chills. Do tell if you were freaked out. That'd make me smile. Haha. Review!

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