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“Uh, Ten-chan? Is the director and the rest of the guys frantically pounding their fists against the air or is it just me?”
Turning to his right, Tenma frowned.
“No, it’s definitely happening. Where the hell are we?”
“Guess what I found~”
Looking up from his phone, Tenma saw Misumi excitedly skipping into the living room with a large item in his hands. Squinting to see what he was holding, it seemed to be a painting on the old side, with dust still shrouding the edges of the frame.
“I’ve never seen this before.” Izumi stood up and walked closer to examine the canvas. “Where’d you find this, Misumi-kun?”
He hummed and plopped down to sit next to Tenma. Leaning against him, Misumi scrunched his eyebrows in thought. “The storage room, I think?”
“Huh..” Izumi placed the painting against the wall and moved to let the others look at it.
It would make sense that it would come from the storage room. After all, everything came from it. The old VHS recorders they used to watch former plays, all the Christmas decorations, the creepy doll Banri had decided to mess with, etc etc. At this point, what didn't the dark and lowkey eerie room have to offer? It was constantly churning out surprises that were either extremely welcome or not.
Curious to know what was painted on the canvas, Tenma placed his phone down and walked to where the others were murmuring.
Waiting there was Itaru and Kazunari, who were taking pictures and Taichi, eagerly waiting for Tenma to watch the painting with him. The others such as Yuki, Chikage and Tsumugi, opting to wait until the rowdier crowd were done, hung around near the painting instead. Tugging on his sleeve, Taichi grinned. “It looks realistic as hell, doesn’t it?”
“Well, it’s a painting, obviously.”
Tenma chose to ignore Yuki muttering under his breath that not all paintings were realistic.
“I know but like, it’s super cool, right?”
Tenma glanced at the painting and raised his eyebrows. Bright colours with pictures of carnival rides filling the canvas, he nodded. Agreeing with Taichi’s statement, Tenma peered deeper into the painting. Noticing a dark stain in the corner, he hesitantly brought his hand to touch it.
“Did you guys move the painting from the storage-?!” Tenma’s hand shot back, seeing Matsukawa's expression, who had ran into the living room in a panic. “Oh no.”
“What’s up, Sukecchi?” Spinning around to face the frenzied manager, Kazunari tilted his head in confusion. “There something wrong?”
“T-t-t-the painting! It’s cursed!”
Cursed?
Itaru snorted but took a few steps away from it regardless, Kazunari following suit. Taichi remained where he was. “This another of the theatre’s mysteries? I thought we already found them all, LOL.”
Panicked, Matsukawa fumbled over his words. “It’s cursed for real-!” Seeing the genuine fear on his face, Tenma hesitated. The manager wasn’t one to lie, especially if it was something as serious as a cursed relic. After all, the theatre DID have some supernatural and unsolved mysteries.
Still doubting the manager’s words, Yuki scoffed. “Cursed how?”
Tsumugi let out a nervous chuckle. Already experienced with the theatre’s jinxes and secrets, he gazed at Misumi, receiving a happy smile back. “... Well, the company IS unique in many ways.”
Low murmurs filled the room. Tenma was a bit curious about the so-called cursed painting, so he leaned in to hear better. It wasn’t as though he was really interested, he was… just taking precautions about the dangers of the dorms. After all, anything could happen.
A sharp yell from Matsukawa snapped Tenma out of his thoughts. “Taichi-kun, get away from the-!”
Turning around to the red-haired boy, Tenma felt his heart drop.
Reaching out from within the canvas’s black paint, was a dark hand that Tenma could immediately tell wasn’t human. Too slow to move, it grabbed Taichi, frozen in shock from the screams and the sight before him. Snaking around his wrist like overgrown vines, Tenma ran to grab Taichi’s outstretched hand. Successfully holding onto each other, they’re pulled into darkness.
The last thing Tenma felt before slipping into the unknown was the warmth of Taichi’s hand.
“Ugh, my head..” Reaching out to put a hand on his throbbing head, Tenma winced and groaned. Waiting for him after he opened his eyes, was a white room that seemed to extend forever.
With nothing adorning the walls that Tenma couldn’t even find or even the source of light shining above him, he couldn’t see much. Only endless white and Taichi, who had started to wake up beside him.
“Taichi- Are you alright?” Realising that he was still holding the other’s hand, he fumbled and quickly let go after Taichi was standing. Upon receiving a dazed and confused confirmation, Tenma sighed in relief.
“Ten-chan, are you okay?!”
Taichi worriedly leaning in to check for any injuries, Tenma flushed and shifted his gaze onto the ground.
“Y-yeah. Where the hell are we?”
Neither could answer that simple question, both still disoriented by their new and sudden surroundings.
“You sure? I think we took a really big fall or something. My arm kinda hurts.. Like–” Taichi paled as his words trailed off into silence. Hurriedly shaking the other to turn around, he grabbed Tenma’s hand and started walking.
Confused, Tenma followed along until he noticed that one of the walls had been replaced by a mirage of Izumi and the others, anxiously slamming their hands against the air. As their walk accelerated into a sprint, they could hear the stressed calls get louder and louder. Shouting for help, they’re stopped by an invisible wall, just short of their home.
“Director-!” Still trying to cross the invisible border, Taichi kicked at the air. “Can you hear us?!”
Seeming to not, she started to panic. Tsumugi anxiously tried to calm her down but to no avail, ended up getting swept up with the commotion. With everyone yelling and trying to make sense of the situation, Tenma felt nervous as well. Was he trapped in an empty room with Taichi forever?
Taking a deep breath, the director shuddered and grimaced. “I-I don’t know if you can hear us, but we’ll get you out of there. Trust me.”
Nodding even though she couldn’t hear or see him, Tenma sighed in relief, despite having his doubts.
Not even seconds later, Izumi turned to Chikage. “Where’s your knife.”
That didn’t sound very promising.
Frowning, Chikage shook his head but handed it over regardless. Tenma made a mental note to never run into him by accident, just in case he had a couple of weapons stashed on him, pointed outwards like a porcupine. He was sure that the older man would know better to keep sharp objects on him with any protection, but better to be safe than sorry, right?
“You sure? What if the canvas tears and something happens?”
The two actors stuck in the painting shivered. Chikage did have a great point – neither of them were eager to be cut out and pasted somewhere like a failed scrapbook project. If it wasn’t too much to ask, a safe escape without being sliced into pieces would be nice.
Wait. Canvas?
Taking the knife and tossing it behind him, Itaru peered over from Izumi’s shoulder. “Got any advice then, Senpai?”
Watching Chikage pick up the knife he had just thrown aside and storing it back onto him, Itaru continued. “Y’know, since you’re…” The implication was evident in his silence. “.. A cheat character.”
He scowled. “You think I deal with magic and witchcraft?”
Itaru raised an eyebrow. “Maybe. Could be a substat, or even a subclass. Wouldn’t put it past you to master all the proficiencies life has to offer. If you were a gacha character, you’d be the franchise’s cash cow, NGL. ”
Turning away from the chatter of the mirage, Tenma turned to Taichi, who was still mindlessly but skittishly kicking his foot against the wall.
“Hey.. Do you think we’re in the painting?” Taichi stopped moving while Tenma continued. “Like, trapped in here.”
Saying it out loud only helped deepen the blow.
Taichi’s breath hitched. “W-what’re we gonna do? Didn’t someone say the painting was cursed?” Taichi started to sweat. “Oh my god, the hand man’s gonna get us.”
“The what?”
“Y’know.” Anxiously showing off his wrist, he presented a light but noticeable mark left on his skin. “The hand man.”
Tenma paled. How could he forget – the thing that brought them here in the first place. He knew that Taichi usually made jokes when he was nervous or at least, tried to make himself less nervous but Tenma couldn’t help but panic.
It could be anywhere, even if the view before them was barren and left nothing to hide. But that only worried him further, leading him to question every potential possibility. If he couldn’t see it, would that mean it could hide itself whenever it wanted? Or perhaps satisfied with its deed, it had already left the painting, for them to spend eternity watching the walls close in on them?
And even if they were to spend the next day, the next week or even the next month in the canvas without the mysterious creature hunting them down, who said they were even guaranteed to leave? Food and water was an issue to begin with. What if the nights were cold, if they could even distinguish night from day? There were so many things to consider and they were both so unprepared.
A hand grasping his own broke him out of his thoughts.
“W-we’ll get out of this, right Tenma?” Taichi grabbed his hand and let out a small but fearful smile. “It’s not the end of the world – Azuma-san and Hisoka-san got out of the locked room, remember? It’s like the same, but like, in a painting! We’ll be out of this in no time!”
Swinging their arms together, he put out his other hand for the other to bump it. Tenma accepted. With both boys shaking nervously, they started brainstorming their escape.
Lying on the floor, Tenma sighed. He guessed it had been at least a few hours since they were transported into the painting, and they still hadn’t come up with a way out.
Tenma had the initial idea of breaking down the barrier standing between them and the dorms, but they soon realised that it wouldn’t bear any fruit. To start with, the wall was sturdy. And hard to see. When kicking and throwing their shoes at it wouldn’t work, they decided, although Tenma was a bit hesitant, to run at it at full force.
Thankfully, nothing was broken, but they had severely underestimated the powers of a barrier that was in addition, invisible. Bracing for impact was one thing, however, bracing for impact at the wrong timing was a totally different matter. To put it simply, Tenma and Taichi spent a good chunk of time gasping for air and holding their bruised bodies.
Taichi’s brilliant idea was to use the resources around him. Which would make sense if they were in a jungle, a forest or if they were even trapped in the dorm’s storage room, but considering they were in an empty room.. Yeah. But what Taichi DID have on him were a few markers and pens which could be used to satisfy their boredom and to draw magic circles, hoping that they get portalled out.
The other side of the painting wasn’t looking too good either. On the many occasions that Tenma glanced over to the mirage, the rest of the actors and their beloved Director were constantly trying new ways of getting them out. Many attempts included Misumi shaking the frame – making Tenma go dizzy from all the motion, Kazunari scrolling through the #isekai hashtag and exploring the tenth “o” of Google, and Yuki threateningly approaching with his seam ripper in hand.
Tenma stopped watching when Itaru dragged over the paper shredder and claimed that maybe the curse could be broken in a literal sense.
At that point, the two actors had given up. Playing catch with various trinkets they had in their pockets, they groaned.
“I’m sooo bored.”
Tenma seconded that. After getting past their initial fear of the unknown, they quickly came to the conclusion that the insides of a painting was boring as shit. If the “hand man” really came after them, Tenma would shake its hand (or would it be its body?) and personally strangle it until they were thrown out.
Taichi grabbed the nearest marker and flung it into the distance. Frustrated, he grumbled. “If you’re gonna give us a life-changing experience, at least make it fun – this is boring as balls.”
As if it were scripted, something fell onto Taichi’s head, causing him to jump and smack the air in defence. Once they had recovered from the small shock, Tenma picked it up and gave it to Taichi. It seemed to be a letter.
Opening the envelope, there were only six words written : Enjoy your stay at the Carnival.
Creepy? Yes.
Was there even a carnival in sight? Tenma thought the answer was no, but after looking up from the note, that quickly changed. Only a few metres away from them was indeed, a carnival that looked exactly like the one that had been painted on the white canvas. From the colours of the rides to even where the sun was shining, everything was the same.
“Oh my god, we’re not alone in here.”
“.. Yeah”
“This is so fucking sus, Ten-chan.”
“Yeah.”
“We.. We should probably go before the hand man gets us.”
“You’re still sticking with that?!” Despite their light and unsteady banter, they turn away from the fair and start heading back to the closest place they could call home.
Until they’re stopped by another envelope, floating down in front of them. Taichi picked it up again. Reading aloud, he furrowed his eyebrows. “You must finish all the rides to leave.”
ANOTHER condition? He was definitely going to fight the hand after this. “Are you kidding me?! Come on Taichi, I’m sure the director can get us out–”
.. Or maybe not, Tenma thought. He almost choked, seeing Misumi aggressively shaking the painting once more, only this time saying “Guys~ I have super triangular triangles over here, so come get them~!”
“... Nevermind, let’s just do this ourselves.”
“Hey, what should we ride next?”
“I wanna try the bumper cars!”
Seeming to have forgotten the predicament they were previously in, Taichi and Tenma ran around the carnival. After hesitantly stepping foot into the first ride, the spinning teacups, the fact that they were trapped had completely slipped from their minds. Once stumbling off the ride, dizzy, they went straight to the next.
Then to the carousel, drop towers and to the shooting gallery. After those, they explored the mirror maze and played various arcade games. It seemed that even in unworldly realms, claw machines were rigged and near impossible to win. Running around with no definite plan of where to venture next, the two actors spent hours having fun.
In both of their defences, it wasn’t often that they were able to run around, and play for however long they wanted to.
Responsibilities and the such, unfortunately existed.
After joyfully crashing their cars into each other for a while, they stopped to catch their breaths and collapsed onto a bench. Thanking Taichi for handing him his food, Tenma sighed.
“Hey Taichi..”
“Mrphm?” Food still stuffed in his mouth, Taichi looked up from his hotdog. Weirdly enough, it had been like the carnival knew about their favourite foods, their favourite drinks and even their ideal weather. Not a grey cloud could be seen in sight and Tenma supposed it was because they were technically indoors, but that still wouldn’t explain the sun beaming upon them.
“Why’re you holding my hand so much..?” By no means was he complaining – he actually really liked it, but he would rather faint then admit it out loud. From the time they first came barreling into the unknown room, their hands had been intertwined at any moment possible ever since. Even while they were fumbling with their food and drinks, they were sitting next to each other and interlocking fingers. If Tenma dropped his hamburger, so be it.
“Hmm…” Taking another bite, Taichi stared at the sky. “Maybe so the hand man can’t pull me somewhere else? Yeah, let’s go with that! This way,” The redhead quickly squeezed the other’s hand. “You can save me, again.”
Not to be dramatic, but Tenma felt his heart stop.
“I-I didn’t even save you-”
“Well, everything’s loads better when I’m with you…”
Tenma already had so many questions when he first came crashing into this unknown room, and honestly? Taichi just gave him another few things to think about. Was this a sign? Glancing over next to him, he flushed an even deeper red. Taichi, now desperately staring a hole in the tree across from them, had turned crimson. Considering there wasn’t anything especially special about the tree, Tenma took it as a good sign.
His heart was going to explode. Was this his youthful, TV-show worthy, throbbing love confession moment? He didn’t care if it wasn’t, he was going to make it WAS no matter what. Taking a deep breath, Tenma grabbed his crush’s other hand, now empty and hotdog-free, and stared into his eyes.
Here goes nothing.
“Taichi, I- I really li-”
A sudden crash interrupted his confession. Instead of flashing a grin and smoothly professing his love that would make any teenager collapse from such sweet words, he screamed and slid to the opposite side of the bench, notably, away from Taichi. Not so sweet now, after basically screeching profanities in someone’s face.
Unlike before, the notes had gently floated down without a care in the world, however, as though they had pissed the gods off, the note had fallen like a ton of bricks. If that didn’t feel like some sort of death flag, Tenma didn’t know what was.
Glaring daggers at the envelope on the ground, the boy picked it up and ripped the letter open. What was so important that it had to ruin the most exciting, impactful moment of his life? Hell, if it was something as simple as “You have 3 hours left.”, he was going to tear it into a million pieces. Yes, it was a bit ominous, but not as important as what he had going on.
Unfolding the note, he stared at the words before him. Unmoving, Taichi peeked over his shoulder.
“Tunnel of Love.”
Tenma was going to pass out.
Despite the hand grabbing the both of them and unwillingly dragging them into a creepy world with no guaranteed way out, the orange-haired boy was strangely grateful for it. The pros included a nice amusement park date, the cons with no escape, maybe. In his eyes, this was shaping out to be okay. It was found in Mankai, the number 1 source of his happiness, so it couldn’t be that bad. Maybe Matsukawa was over exaggerating?
Following the black footsteps that led them to their final destination, Taichi and Tenma chattered about the most mundane things possible. Holding hands of course – they couldn’t bear to let either of them go.
“Orange, purple, light and navy blue go well together, am I right? And also red. Red’s good.”
“Huh? Yeah, I guess.”
Love wasn’t like anything he expected. It was nothing like the dramas he had acted in, and after meeting Taichi, he fell apart. Smooth lines he would say through screens transformed into mumbles and incoherent splutters in front of the other. Dazzling smiles he sent to Taichi backfired, turning him into a blushing mess when the other smiled back.
He’d never fallen this hard in his life.
Coming to a stop, they looked up at the final ride in front of them. Any romantic atmosphere they were wading in was shattered in a heartbeat.
“What the hell.”
Instead of the heart shaped arc, swan boats and pink and red lights Tenma was expecting, he was met with an unfortunate surprise.
He knew he was expecting much, especially since all the rides had seemingly gone extinct, like, twenty years ago, but still. And yes, he was a romantic with a soft spot for cheesy cliches. Shut up. After basically living in one ever since a child, he was bound to get somewhat attached.
What he didn’t expect, was a crack running through the middle of the heart, lights flickering at random intervals and muddy waves crashing down the stream. Instead of a white and pure swan boat waiting for them, was a dirty swan that had half the neck snapped off. The difference between ambiences was clear as day – that rundown, haunted carnival ride was like it came from an entirely new world.
Tenma was sure that if he rode it with anyone, they’d be cursed with heartbreak for the rest of their lives.
“We need to leave.”
Before they could turn and run for their lives, they’re pushed onto a boat from behind and sent off their way. Damn that fucking hand man. Booting up with mechanical creaks and ominous buzzing, the current picked up and helpless, the two barrelled their way into the dark and lifeless tunnel.
Sharp twists and turns had them grabbing onto each other for life’s sake, screaming and jumping every time the boat crashed onto the side of the wall. Tenma could hear Taichi muttering under his breath, “Just like in Willy Wonka, just like in WIlly Wonka, just like in-”, before screaming as the boat made another turn. Every time the water narrowly splashed into the swan or they heard a distant crash from behind them, added another level of their neverending fear. Too afraid to look back, Tenma wondered if something was chasing them. The thought was quickly dismissed with Taichi basically jumping onto his lap, and the current getting even faster.
Letting out a hysterical laugh and screaming his lungs out, Taichi squeezed his eyes shut and shouted over the crashing waves. “TEN-CHAN, I’M IN LOVE WITH YOU, LIKE, FOR REAL-”
Not the confession he was expecting, but the other didn’t hesitate to make himself clear. “I LOVE YOU TOO-” His voice cracked, as the boat shuddered and uncontrollably shook.
“REALLY?” Taichi gasped and turned to look at him as much as he could. Tenma nodded. “ARE WE ABOUT TO KISS RIGHT NOW?”
“IF- IF YOU WANT TO-?”
Exhilarated, the red-haired boy whooped and grabbed Tenma’s face in his hands. Ignoring the chaos swirling around them like violent ghosts, Taichi smiled and bumped their foreheads together. Nervously giggling, they paused and leaned in to-
A dark hand grabbed Taichi and soon after, Tenma. It was really out to destroy any romantic life they were experiencing, wasn’t it? Struggling to be set free but to no avail, they’re dragged deeper and deeper into the tunnel, hanging midair unable to fight back.
Tenma was sensing a pattern here.
Seeing the exit approach closer and closer, they perked up and started flailing around harder, only to realise they were exhausted from the ride from hell. Taking it as an opportunity to catch their breaths, they go limp and let the hand carry them by their collars to freedom.
“Hey, Tenma?”
“What’s up?”
With a determined look in his eyes, he pointed right at him. “After this we’re definitely kissing, got it?”
Before Tenma could respond, they’re thrown at the exit.
Launched out of the painting, they crashed onto the wooden floor. Oh, how Tenma loved the ground. By far, solids were the best state of matter of the three. Fuck liquids, for real. He was never getting onto a boat after that excessively thrilling ride. Or any dark, enclosed tunnel. Or just in any creepy carnival ride in general. Tenma’s short moment of peace was interrupted with Izumi, coffee in hand, staring wide eyed at him.
“How the hell-?!”
Weakly trying to get up, Tenma rolled onto his back. “It’s a.. Long story.”
Lying beside him, Taichi nodded, drained. “Talk later.. I need to appreciate the floor right now.”
Understanding but still confused, Izumi bit her lip and pulled them into a hug. Questions could be asked later – she was just glad that they were back, safe and sound. Without her knowing how, it seemed that they had successfully broken the curse.
“Say.. How’s the painting cursed, actually? You never mentioned it, after Taichi and Tenma got sucked into that thing.”
After everyone came to rejoice that their two beloved friends had finally returned, Izumi had pulled Matsukawa from the group hug to interrogate.
“It happened years ago..” He adjusted his glasses and whispered in a low voice. “Kamekichi’s girlfriend got sucked into the painting with another bird and when they came out.. She wouldn’t speak to him at all! They flew away together, never to be seen again… That painting must’ve done something to them!”
Kazunari looked over to where the two boys were sitting, only this time trying to help each other up. Raising an eyebrow at their flushed faces and mumbling, he turned back to face the director and manager, smirking.
“You sure they weren’t just love birds?”