(Alternate Perspectives: Yuki / Noah)
Yuki
The basement door slammed shut behind me with a dull thud full of omens. The underground air was heavy with the scent of damp stone and something else, a metallic perfume that reminded me of old blood. I gripped the leather notebook tightly and walked on. Each step echoed against the walls like a drumbeat marking my own fear.
At the end, Rei awaited me. This time not in the mirror, but before me—alive, skin faintly blue, eyes burning in the dim light. His lips curved into a smile filled with longing and loneliness.
I froze. Rei approached, placing his hand on my shoulder. His touch was icy yet electrifying. A shiver raced down my spine even as a strange warmth bloomed in my chest. His gaze penetrated my clothes and reached my skin with an intensity that made me tremble.
"Yuki," he whispered, cold breath against my ear, "let me show you what this house can give us."
Before I could reply, he slid a hand along my nape and down my neck, tracing the contours of my collarbone. I felt his flesh brushing mine through my shirt, each light contact sending tingles up to my head.
My fingers clutched at his shirt. In that moment there was no room for fear, only desire. His lips brushed my neck. His tongue mapped a slow, wet path, igniting an unknown flame inside me.
"Rei…" I moaned, unable to restrain the urgency burning in my voice. "Is this… real?"
Rei paused the kiss and met my eyes.
"More real than any dream."
Noah
From the ground floor I heard a muted moan—an otherworldly sound I couldn't blame on the wind or the usual creak of the house. My heart pounded. I grabbed my lantern and descended the stairs cautiously. The air was eerily cold; the gas lamp I'd left burning in the parlor was extinguished, as if nothing could live down here.
In the basement, I saw their silhouettes: Rei leaning over Yuki in a pose too intimate for a mere spectral guardian. My stomach churned. Was I hallucinating?
Yuki's breath was ragged and deep. Rei's hands stroked Yuki's neck and chest over his clothing like a lover afraid of tearing his beloved apart. A wave of jealousy and anger twisted in my gut.
"Yuki," I called softly, voice trembling. "Are you all right?"
Yuki looked up at me, startled. Rei straightened instantly, expression unreadable. The silence that followed was heavy enough to hear my blood pounding.
Yuki
Your presence shattered the spell. I felt my skin bristle: part of me wanted Rei to remain, to keep exploring my body with his spectral fingers, but another part screamed for alarm.
"Noah…" I whispered, attempting to move.
Rei stepped back a few paces but never took his eyes off my heavy breaths. His gaze was patient yet piercing.
"Let him be, Yuki," Rei said, voice deep as a cavern.
Noah does not understand what we share."
Noah
Confusion and fear rooted me to the spot. Yuki gripped my arm tenderly, as if shielding me from something I couldn't see. Rei looked at me with a calm that chilled my blood.
"A lover?" I hissed, heart aching. "Is Rei… your lover?"
Yuki's eyes darted away. In that moment, Rei took a step closer; I felt his will as a blade against my ribs.
Yuki
I stepped toward Noah, reaching for his hand, but Rei seized my wrist with that supernatural strength he wielded. His marble-cold fingers pressed into my flesh.
"Yuki…" Rei murmured, "our bond is inevitable. Yet it will shatter if you let Noah stand between us."
My head spun. I loved Rei—needed him on my skin—but I also feared betraying Noah, my friend. The leather notebook shook in my pocket. Inside lay fragments of history that might be Noah's key.
"Rei," I breathed, "if you stay with me, Noah…"
Noah
I watched Yuki struggle—his hands trembled, his chest heaved. Rei tightened his grip on Yuki's wrist and I saw a glint in his eyes that was anything but human: a voracious, primal longing.
"Yuki," I said firmly, voice steady despite my fear, "if you're bound to Rei, I'll help break that. I won't let you be lost in this cursed place."
Rei raised a spectral eyebrow. The basement's temperature plunged. I saw my breath mist before me.
Yuki
My heart tore between two desires. I touched Noah's hand, then Rei's, fingertips brushing. The tension between them was palpable—fire and ice intertwined.
"I can't lose either of you," I whispered, voice cracking, "but I don't know what is right."
Rei stepped forward without releasing my hand. His face hovered a breath away from mine: one human, one spectral, and I stood between both worlds.
"Let me guide you," Rei whispered, breath cold against my cheek, "I will show you the truth of this house. Then you will choose."
Noah
The floor trembled with a low roar from the house's depths. Lights flickered. Distorted voices rose through the walls. The house protested.
Rei tightened his hold on Yuki. His nails—tiny claws—ripped the fabric of Yuki's shirt, cutting a thread of skin. I saw drops of blood.
A piercing scream echoed behind us. A shadow in the walls emerged—eyes glowing—then vanished with a whisper.
Yuki
Pain mingled with adrenaline. Rei licked the blood from my wrist, gaze never leaving mine. His cold, rough tongue glided over my skin, and I felt a carnal vertigo that stole my breath.
"See?" Rei whispered, "the house binds us, Yuki. It desires us."
His body pressed against mine. I trembled—no longer from fear, but desire. Summoning courage, I cupped Rei's face in my hands and pulled him into a desperate, forbidden kiss.
Noah
I stepped forward, intent on pulling them apart, but the bond was so strong the air thickened. My hand brushed the rune-etched wall—an incomplete circle. If I could close it… maybe…
"Yuki," I gasped, voice urgent, "the symbol… in the book…"
Before I could finish, Rei's gaze pierced me. The kiss between Rei and Yuki deepened, and I felt a stabbing longing and loss.