The night was cooler than usual as you and your friends stood outside the old mansion, deep in the dense forests outside the city. Satoru Gojo stood beside you, his usual confident smile on his lips, even if his white hair looked strangely ghostly in the light of the pale moon. Suguru, Utahime, and Shoko stood not far away, the two women with skeptical looks while Suguru calmly surveyed his surroundings.

"It'll be a piece of cake," Satoru said, stretching his arms as if the whole thing was just a walk in the park. "An empty house on the outskirts of town how scary can that be?"

"You're not taking this seriously enough," Utahime muttered, arms crossed. "There are rumors about this house, Satoru. People have disappeared here."

Shoko grinned and lit a cigarette. "He just can't imagine there's anything that could scare him."

You glanced at Satoru. He was always like that, unflappable and sometimes overconfident. But something about this house, surrounded by dark trees and a strange silence, made you feel uneasy in your stomach too.

"All right," you said, more to yourself than to the others. "Let's just go in and get this over with."

The old house creaked as you opened the massive wooden door. It was dark inside, the air stale and filled with a slight musty smell. The flashlight you'd brought cast weak beams of light on the dilapidated walls, and every sound echoed in the silent void.

Suguru walked ahead, his steps calm and controlled. "We should split up to explore the place faster," he suggested. "Two teams."

"I'll go with her," Satoru said immediately, grinning over at you. "Someone has to look after her."

You rolled your eyes, but a smile crossed your lips. It was typical of him to make comments like that.

Suguru nodded and walked in the opposite direction with Shoko and Utahime while you and Satoru walked down a hallway that went deeper into the house.