The haunted house, as the name suggests, was filled with all sorts of eerie and terrifying things. It was the perfect place to test one's courage.
For couples going through the experience together, it was a golden opportunity to increase a girl's affection for her companion.
It was simple—girls, in general, were more prone to being scared by horror-related things. And at such times, the person beside her—you—would naturally become her source of safety.
To feel secure, girls would often, "unintentionally", cling tightly to your arm, pressing close.
Not a bad deal, right?
Of course, if you ended up acting even worse than the girl, then the haunted house could also become the graveyard for your budding relationship.
With an eerie atmosphere and strange, unsettling sounds echoing from who-knows-where, it always felt like something was about to jump out from the shadows, startling you at any moment.
Two figures walked forward amidst such a spooky environment.
At first, they walked about half a meter apart. Gradually, Yazuki could feel a slightly warm body drawing closer. The usually calm and gentle upperclassman, who had appeared serene at first, began to show some unease as they ventured deeper.
Suddenly, Yazuki's hand was grasped by a soft, unbelievably delicate hand—first just his fingers.
The next second, as if something flashed before them—
"Kyaaa—!"
With a sharp, terrified scream, the hand that had been holding his fingers quickly latched onto his whole palm, then climbed further—finally wrapping around his arm.
At that moment, Yazuki's arm was caught in the very soft embrace of the gentle senior. A delicious kind of numbness ran up Yazuki's spine.
"Uh... K-Kasumigaoka-senpai…"
Yazuki's voice came out more flustered than scared—not from fear, but from the overwhelming softness and warmth pressing against him. It was a real shock to the system.
"Sorry, Yazuki-kun… I really can't handle this sort of thing…"
Her face had turned unnaturally pale from the fright, and her trembling voice was filled with genuine apology.
At the same time, she hugged Yazuki's arm even tighter, allowing him to feel the softness even more clearly through her clothes—as if his hand was being completely absorbed and couldn't escape.
"I-Is that so? Then could you let go for a moment…? You're, um, touching something…"
"Touching something? What?"
Utaha looked a bit confused, then followed Yazuki's line of sight—which was, unfortunately, resting somewhere in between of her mountain peaks.
Her previously pale face instantly turned a little red, and she hurriedly let go in a bit of a panic.
But the next second, sensing something strange might still be lurking around, she once again held onto Yazuki's hand—gripping it slightly tighter this time.
"I'm really sorry. Just let me hold your hand for a bit longer… Otherwise, I might actually cry~"
Her half-joking, half-pleading tone made Yazuki freeze. After scratching his head, he gave a small nod.
[Hissss~~ Are those claws?! That definitely broke the skin!]—Yazuki's internal monologue.
[You bastard. Just you wait. Let's see how I get back at you for calling my "Love Metronome" trash.]—The gentle senpai's internal monologue.
Honestly, going in as a group of five would've been meaningless.
Since senpai clearly couldn't handle this stuff, it made sense for her to go in with at least one.
So they split up—Yazuki paired with Utaha, the other three formed another group.
As they went deeper inside…
Every now and then, they could hear screams—probably from other visitors—but the specially designed echoing corridors made them sound even more haunting and disturbing.
Wait… was that the scream of a certain defeated dog who went in first? Hopefully, she didn't get so scared she wet herself.
"Mmm~~~"
From Utaha's lips came another soft, almost cute whimper. Without Yazuki noticing, she'd once again clung to his arm, pressing even closer.
Not only that—she had leaned almost half her body against his.
Each time she whimpered, her soft lips brushed against Yazuki's ear, making him extremely uncomfortable in an entirely different way.
Drip drip drip.
Step step step.
Oooooo~
Strange sounds echoed from all around them, wrapping around the pair. It was like Yazuki's body was being absorbed into Utaha's soft figure.
Suddenly, Utaha's high heel either slipped or got stuck on something.
They had been moving a bit quickly, so she lost her balance and fell—dragging Yazuki down with her.
And in that moment, the typical GALGAME scene played out—Yazuki ended up on top of Utaha, clearly feeling the plushness of her body, especially certain areas, and their eyes locked, lips nearly touching—
…Well, that's what would've happened if this were fiction.
In reality, Utaha fell on her butt, while Yazuki was yanked to the side—faceplanting into the wall.
"Yazuki-kun, I'm so sorry! Are you okay? Ah—!"
She'd turned to check on him, clearly worried, when a pained expression flashed across her face, and she let out a small cry.
She had twisted her ankle.
"I'm okay… Kasumigaoka-senpai, are you alright?"
"I think I twisted my ankle…"
She replied, a little embarrassed and slightly gloomy.
"Ah, um…"
The lighting here was poor, so Yazuki couldn't properly check her injury. Feeling a bit flustered, he turned his back to her and crouched down.
"Kasumigaoka-senpai, let me carry you."
"Th-Then I'll be counting on you… I'm really sorry, Yazuki-kun."
Without being overly dramatic, Utaha bit her lip and endured the pain as she stood up.
But just as she got on Yazuki's back, she staggered and pressed her full weight onto him, nearly making Yazuki eat dirt and throw out his back.
"S-Sorry, sorry, Yazuki-kun…"
"I-It's okay, please stop apologizing, Kasumigaoka-senpai…"
And so, Yazuki carried Utaha on his back, clearly feeling her fragrant warmth and body temperature against him.
["Sorry," my ass! You definitely did that on purpose! Who says girls are light?! She weighs about the same as I do! Crap, I need to deal with this quick…]—Yazuki's inner thoughts, his mind replacing the image of the soft senpai with an angelic girl in special attire to calm himself.
[Oh my, Yazuki-kun's body temperature is rising… even his speech is stuttering. Now, what should I tease him with next?]—Utaha's inner monologue. Though it was her first time being carried like this by a guy, her heartbeat was racing.
He won't notice, will he?
She tried calming herself by recalling how silly Eriri looked in the past.
"Yazuki-kun, am I too heavy?"
Utaha's sweet, syrupy voice and warm breath once again brushed against Yazuki's ear.
"N-No, not at all."
[Glad you know you're a pig. And you're dead meat!]
Yazuki's lips curled into a wicked smile—one so evil that even actual ghosts might run away in fear.
"Um, Yazuki-kun, are we going the wrong way?"
"Huh? I don't think so. Should be this way."
Yazuki, who was quite familiar with this place, deliberately led them into an even creepier area.
Ghosts? Monsters? For someone like Utaha, who believed in science, that kind of stuff wouldn't scare her.
But the area they were in now had a different kind of horror—bloody and grotesque, like something out of a horror movie set in a deranged laboratory.
Yazuki could feel her uneasiness and trembling on his back.
Finally, they reached the most terrifying part of the attraction. Yazuki stepped forward toward the trigger mechanism.
In an instant, the two of them fell into a pit filled with hyper-realistic, dismembered body parts and twitching, grotesque dolls emitting creepy sounds.
Now scream! Tremble! Cry! Better yet—wet yourself!!!