Luke started picking up trash around the apartment. Figured he should clean up a little indeed. Who knows maybe another girl would randomly show up at his place someday, and he probably wouldn't get lucky enough to hear that kind of sweet bullshit again, the one about a messy room being a sign of masculinity.
The air was still thick with last night's smell of beer and instant noodles. The floor felt sticky under his bare feet. He sighed and grabbed another empty pizza box.
He was stuffing it into a garbage bag when he noticed the chewing sounds getting louder.
Crunch. CRUNCH. CRUNCH.
It was wet, heavy chewing, like someone biting into raw vegetables right next to his ear.
Luke finally turned around.
Yuki's mouth was open wide, really wide, way wider than it should be. A minute ago, she had been taking these tiny, delicate bites. Now her jaw kept stretching, tendons tightening under her skin, reminding him of Venom.
Luke's hands froze on the garbage bag. The plastic crackled loudly in the silence.
She just kept eating, tearing through the leaves faster and faster, the silver chopstick stabbing down again and again like a machine.
"You… you okay?" Luke's voice came out quiet, almost a whisper.
Yuki looked at him and smiled. Her mouth was full of green juice, her tongue stained dark green. The smell of crushed leaves filled the room, and for a second, Luke felt like he was sitting next to a giant rabbit that had forgotten it wasn't supposed to eat people.
"Delicious,"
she commented softly.
Then it got louder.
"Delicious!"
"DELICIOUS!"
"DELICIOUS!"
"DELICIOUS!"
...
Each shout bounced off the walls, sharper, wilder, until it didn't sound human anymore. The echo kept twisting through the air like a broken siren.
She started shouting it over and over, even switching to Japanese.
"Oishii! Oishii! OISHII!"
Luke's whole body felt cold. He didn't know what to do. The apartment suddenly felt too small, the air too thick to breathe.
Yuki suddenly stood up, twisting violently as if something inside her was trying to crawl out. The kimono strained against her movements, threads snapping with dry little pops.
Luke 's brain short-circuited, because she was going to be naked.
**
Everything was spiraling out of control, and the only thing he could do was back toward his bedroom.
Suddenly, Yuki tore the kimono open before he could desperately close his eyes.
But what appeared underneath wasn't pale skin.
It was green.
Scales like a lizard or a snake. Green reptilian skin covered her body, reflecting the dim ceiling light. It shimmered faintly as she moved, like something alive beneath the surface. It was a scene straight out of a horror movie.
Luke finally screamed. He stumbled backward, almost fell, scrambling toward his bedroom in a clumsy panic until his hand reached the door handle.
...
Yuki pulled the kimono back around herself.
She started laughing.
"Kekekeke."
That's a high-pitched giggle, exactly like the high school girls in classic Japanese anime,
It actually sounded kind of cute, which somehow made her a little less terrifying.
Luke still couldn't speak. His hands were shaking so badly he could barely hold his phone.
**
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Someone was knocking on the bedroom door behind him.He let out a strangled cry, dropped the phone, and crawled under the bed, hugging his head like a terrified kid.
"Hey, don't call the cops! Just a prank! A P-R-A-N-K!"
a voice shouted from behind the door.
"It's just a prank! Luke, are you listening?"
**
Luke blacked out for about thirty seconds.
When he opened his eyes, the girl in front of him looked totally normal,and even worried. She was holding up some kind of bodysuit. Green fabric with scales printed on it.
It is a costume.
"Look," she said, waving it at him. "It's fake,you see?"
Luke's brain slowly started working again.
Yuki smiled apologetically. "I'm really sorry I scared you. I thought since you go to all those haunted places and explore so many scary locations, you wouldn't be afraid of something like this." She paused. "Oh no, I forgot to introduce myself properly. My name is Yuki Takahashi. I'm your fan. You probably don't remember, but I sent you a DM before. My profile picture was a green apple and I think we..."
Luke just stared at her.
A fan.
She was a fan.
"You..." Luke's voice came out hoarse. "You're a fan?"
"Yes!" Yuki nodded enthusiastically. "I've watched all your videos. The demon house with Gerald was so funny. And that abandoned asylum? The way you exposed those fake ghosts was amazing."
Luke was still trying to catch his breath. His heart was pounding so hard he could hear it in his ears.
"So the scales..." he said slowly.
"Body paint and a suit." Yuki turned the costume inside out, showing him the mesh fabric. "I made it myself. I'm really into special effects makeup. I thought it would be funny to prank the guy who pranks everyone else.And I did it!!!.. Oops,sorry again.. do you feel better right now?"
Luke looked at the costume. Then at Yuki. Then at the half-eaten pothos plant on the plate.
"What 's that shit."
"Okay, that part was real. "Yuki giggled. "Just make sure you believe it."
"That's..." Luke rubbed his face. "That's insane."
"I know." Yuki sat back down on the couch, still smiling. "But you have to admit, I got you real good. You should have seen your face when I opened the kimono."
Luke couldn't argue with that. She did get him. Got him bad.
He'd been terrified. Actually, genuinely terrified.
For the first time in years, something had scared him and now he was finding out it was all fake.
"How did you even..." Luke gestured vaguely. "How did you plan this? The hitchhiking, the kimono, all of it?"
"I've been following your schedule," Yuki said casually. "You post about your Tuesday shows at The Rusty Nail. I knew you'd be driving home late. I just waited on the road. Halloween night, white kimono, pretty girl in trouble... I figured you'd stop."
"That's..."
"Creepy?" Yuki finished. "Yeah, maybe a little. But you make content about exploring creepy places. I thought you'd appreciate the commitment."
Luke didn't know what to say. Part of him was still freaking out. Part of him was impressed. And a small part of him was thinking about how good this would be for content.
A fan pranking him. On camera. If he'd been recording...
"Wait," Luke said. "Were you recording this?"
Yuki's smile got bigger. "Maybe."