Chapter Text
Sanemi thinks this is how he goes fucking insane.
Today started out so well! He woke up early without needing an alarm blaring in his ears, he got to brew himself some coffee for the first time in a week, and he even had a short, easy to tackle to-do list! Today wasnt supposed to go into the paranormal. He doesnt even believe in the paranormal!
Well he kind of has to now. The only other choice is group hysteria, and he isnt exactly happy with that option.
Sanemi sighs as he finishes lacing up his shoes, and falls backwards onto his bed. He stares up at his ceiling. He knew this building wasnt the best choice out there when he signed the lease, but its the best he can afford. He's still in college and he's still sending a third of his salary back to his mother across the city. Now Sanemi stares at the stains on his ceiling with a pit of anxiety growing in his stomach. He never gave second thought to anything odd from this building before today. Maybe he should have? Shit, he even managed to rope his friends and his little brother into this.
Sanemi thinks this is karma. For what, though, he isn't sure yet. Does he even need a reason? After all, given his temper..
His thoughts are interrupted by a knock on his bedroom door. Sanemi sits up and looks over to see Obanai standing there, paper mask firm on his face. Sanemi doesnt know why he insists on wearing that. Well, he knows, of course, obviously he fucking knows. But he doesn't really get it, what the hell could possibly be wrong with the scar on Obanai's face? Sanemi doesnt mind it one bit.
Obanai's voice cuts his thoughts short. When did he start trailing off into thought like that? "Hey, are you ready? We should probably get going soon if we don't want to be late."
Sanemi sighs and stands, "Yeah, Im ready. I don't want to hear Tengen's late speech bullshit any more than you do." Obanai nods quietly like he always does when he has nothing to add.
Sanemi can respect Obanai's nature. Hes quiet, but he's not at the same time. He says what's necessary and not much more, no matter how comfortable he is. Obanai is endlessly snappy and sarcastic, sharp and witty. But he still has a caring nature somewhere deep behind everything. He's easy to keep up with, easy to think about. He's easy to read when he lets himself be.
Obanai backs out of the doorway, Sanemi following him though stopping by the wall as the other makes his way to the kitchen counter. He has a tote bag stationed and a few tiny things on the countertop that Sanemi cant quite see from across the room like this. His gaze is stuck on Obanai, but of course he cant fully ignore the elephant in the room..
He can feel his eye twitching, his expression going tight from his aggravation. He doesn't even fully understand why this whole thing is getting to him, but it is. Out of the corner of his eye though, he can see him.
The ghost, apperently, that haunts their apartment. He looks their age, curly tangled black hair that bleeds to a bright blue at the ends. Empty, tired blue eyes that seem to go on endlessly, same as before he has blood endlessly dripping from the corner of his lips and his nose. He wears a tattered, slightly torn dark blue yukata that falls off one of his shoulders, matching hakama in a paler blue stained in splotches from blood. Damn, this guy really likes blue, what the hell? It vaguely reminds him of Shinobu's almost-obsession with the color purple. His style seems fairly traditional, the clothing anyway. Sanemi wonders when this guy even died, maybe it overlapped a festival? Or he's just a really fucking old spirit.
Obanai's voice once again today yanks Sanemi from his thoughts. "Ive got everything, I'm good to go if you are." Sanemi nods with a slight sigh, following behind Obanai who walks to the front door of their apartment. Obanai hesitates for a second before shutting the door behind them both and locking it. He turns to look at Sanemi, "Is this really a good idea? To bring casper the gloomy ghost with us? Will this even work how Uzui thinks it will?"
Sanemi sighs and shakes his head, "I have no fucking idea. I don't think either of us know jackshit about ghosts, but I'll be sure to call Genya later. He's a nerd about this type of stuff, so he'll know more than the both of us combined." Obanai nods, turning around and just barely missing how Sanemi jumps when the ghost in question pokes his head through the front door silently. Tomioka looks between them both with that weird blank expression before floating through the door fully and following behind Obanai as he starts down the hall of the apartment floor. Sanemi sighs again, not wanting to think about how this will affect his daily life at the moment. Though, he knows when the silence hits, it'll be all he can think about.
The three make their way to the elevator, down the apartment floors, and to the sidewalk before any of them speak. "You said the café by that flower shop Kocho's little sister works at?" Obanai asks, his gaze shifting to Sanemi. He nods and can only mantain eye contact for a moment before he looks ahead. "Yeah. I think the place is called.. Hisa's Wisteria House? Sounds like something Shinobu would pick." Obanai begins to speak but Tomioka is quicker, he looks over at the two and floats to Obanai's side who shoots a scowl and sidesteps farther from him. "Hisa's? That's where we're going?"
Sanemi nods slowly, a bit confused and slightly irritated, he just said that. "Yeah, thats what a friend of ours texted me. Why? You know the place?" Tomioka nods and backs out of their personal space a bit. "I used to go there a lot. Im glad to know she's still in buisness."
Sanemi hums, he looks over to Obanai. He looks uncomfortable, bothered by Tomioka's presence. He wonders if it's just his thing about personal space, or if the landlord told him something about the ghost that Sanemi doesnt know yet. He pauses his train of thought. Himejima said to try and get to know this guy, but that doesn't look like it's gonna be easy. Hell, what does he know, though? He's not dead, he didn't know this guy before he died, and his Ma always says not to judge a book by its cover..
"Is it any good? Hisa's?" Sanemi asks, raising an eyebrow and turning a bit towards Obanai but looking at Tomioka. Hes not fond of the thought of looking insane in public. Tomioka, however doesnt respond. Sanemi sighs, annoyance rising, he hates ditzes. "Tomioka, I'm talking to you." The ghost in question perks up at that. He pauses before nodding. Sanemi blinks a few times before pinching the bridge of his nose and looking ahead again.
Why did he bother? Plus, what the hell's the point of getting to know this guy anyway? Theyre just gonna be getting rid of him as soon as possible. He's not supposed to be here, he's dead. But.. Sanemi cant help but wonder. Obanai called him a 'missing person' before. Not a homicide victim, suicide, anything of that sort, but missing. He can't help but feel a stab of worry and mirrored annoyance that he's getting into something he won't easily be able to crawl his way out of.
Its not long after his thoughts begin to occupy him that Sanemi finds himself and the other two on the storefront of a quaint little teahouse named Hisa's Wisteria House. Funnily enough, he can see a very on-theme fake wisteria tree in the center of the shop, the blossoms cascading over the ceiling and having hanging light fixtures of purple and warm yellow glows to them. He hums a bit, thinking he was fairly spot-on with his comment about Shinobu probably picking this place.
He doesn't hesitate before walking through the front door with Obanai, a collection of three silver bells hung from the ceiling jingle gently as they enter. The inside is warmly lit, even the wood floors and walls, and stone counters complimenting such with warm undertones. He immediately spots Rengoku's obnoxiously brightly-colored--surprisingly genetic--hair and nudges Obanai in the side, pointing to the table their friend group is sat at. Obanai hums and walks over, weaving through tables and pulled out chairs and people quickly, expertly. Sanemi can't help but spare a second to think about how he wishes he could do that the same way; but his frame is larger than Obanai's, so its more difficult for Sanemi to weasel his way through places the way that Obanai does. He takes the slightly longer route and just walks around all the tables, Tomioka floating behind silently.
Sanemi watches Obanai tap Rengoku's shoulder, who immediately whips around, his face lighting up when he sees his brother. Rengoku pulls Obanai into a warm side-hug, beaming and shouting, "Obanai! There you are! We were all beginning to worry you and Sanemi would not make it!" Obanai only shakes his head, Sanemi watches Kyojuro's gaze snap to him as Sanemi comes up behind Obanai. Rengoku continues to smile, "Its good to see you, Sanemi, my friend! Please, both of you take a seat! There's no reason to stand around!"
Sanemi finds himself smiling despite how annoyingly loud Rengoku is being already. He's loud normally, hell Sanemi knows he himself is a loud guy, but there are days when Rengoku is just that much louder than normal, and it grates on his patience just a little. He respects and cares about Kyojuro, he knows he isnt always aware of how loud he is, but its a pet peeve he hasnt found himself able to shake. Sanemi scoff-laughs and pulls out a chair, to the left of him is Himejima and the right is Kanae. Obanai directly across from him sits at the only available space left, in between Kyojuro and Tengen. He feels a bit bad for his roommate, Tengen and Kyojuro are both naturally loud, and the two are incredibly animated. But, he also knows Tengen's one of Obanai's closer friends, so he gets away with it. Rengoku always has for being hard of hearing aswell as Obanai's adoptive brother.
Sanemi gives a short greeting to Himejima and the Kocho sisters each. Kanae smiling warmly as always, Shinobu sending a gesture his way to show she saw and acknowledges him, Himejima smiles and greets him back.
A waitress dressed in a gentle lavander kimono with white wisteria blossoms for a pattern and yellow obi walks over and quickly takes a drink order for Sanemi and Obanai both. The table is quieter for a single moment before–
Mitsuri suddenly whips around to look at Sanemi and Obanai, she jumps up in her seat and slaps her hands on the table. "Tengen said your apartment is haunted! What happened!? How'd you find out? Are you guys okay? Do you need to move out?" Mitsuri looks and sounds concerned, Obanai looks blatantly surprised with his eyes slightly widened and eyebrows raised. Sanemi groans and drags one of his hands over his face, his eyebrow twitching. Kanae beside him pipes up, "He said the spirit didn't disappear even with a typical ward! Has this ghost posed a threat to either of you yet?"
Sanemi can already feel a migrane coming on. His gaze snaps to the ghost in question, inexpressive as ever, looking around the table of eight. Sanemi himself, Obanai behind his mask, the eldest two Kocho sisters with their butterfly pins, Himejima and his beads, Rengoku with his fire-colored hair, Tengen and his stupid headband, and Mitsuri with her triple braids and bows to match. He sighs and presses a hand to his temple, his voice tight with annoyance. "The ghost is fuckin' fine, a bastard if anything." Obanai nods and hisses as his eyes narrow, "Barely a word out of him, not a single shift in expression."
Shinobu spares the duo a look, raising an eyebrow, "That doesn't sound like much of a threat." To which Sanemi snaps, "Well we don't fucking know! Bastard's only been around a day and a half!" Shinobu snrks, giving a shrug and humming sickly-sweet. "Wouldn't he have proven himself a threat by now, then?" Obanai scoffs and rolls his eyes, responding quicker than Sanemi can. "He could be biding his time before causing chaos, we don't have a single way of knowing."
Tengen chimes in, leaning on the table and smiling that same way he always does. "The guy looked like a kicked puppy, dude. He looked like he got caught out in the rain without an umbrella. I doubt, seriously, that he's any sort of threat. Speakin' of the guy, did you manage to get him to follow you?" Shinobu deadpans as she immediately turns to him. "Now, Tengen, how on earth would they have done that?" Tengen laughs and says, "I don't know! Im not the one being haunted!"
Obanai sighs, his eye twitching. He vaguely gestures to the space above the table, beside the Kocho sisters where the spirit in question had settled. He says, "As idiotic as that ask was, he followed anyway. He's over there." Tengen looks surprised and turns to Obanai. "Really?" He asks, "I could see him before, why not here? You messin' with me, just trying to shut me up?" Obanai rolls his eyes and hisses, "I wish I was."
Sanemi nods and also vaguely gestures to the area the seemingly oblivious, airheaded ghost is floating. "Yeah, no, bastard's over there staring at us." Kanae looks surprised, Shinobu intruiged and equal parts disturbed judging on the way her smile tightens and her eyebrows adjust.
Kanae looks up at the gestured area then back at Sanemi, leaning a bit towards him. She asks, "Can he show himself to us? Can we meet him properly?" Sanemi scowls and rolls his eyes, bristling. "That's a him question. I don't know jack shit about how ghosts work." Kanae hums and turns to look at the general area Tomioka is in again.
Kanae smiles gently, "Would you like to show yourself, spirit?" To which Tomioka in question, doesn't react. He doesn't even look at Kanae, his gaze far-off and unfocused. Obanai's expression tightens in annoyance, Sanemi simmers for a moment before quietly seething. "Tomioka, we're talking to you." The ghost finally looks up, almost startled. He turns to Sanemi and tilts his head a bit to the side as if he were confused. Tomioka asks slowly, "You were?" Sanemi opens his mouth to respond, but his gaze is caught by how Kanae and Shinobu both suddenly shiver, an uncomfortable expression passing over Shinobu's face. Sanemi pauses for a moment before asking as he looks directly at the sisters, "The fuck was that?"
Kanae smiles and waves it off, "Oh! Just a chill went through the room. Its quite fine." Shinobu rolls her eyes and yanks her coat on tighter. "It doesn't feel like it just went through, more like a freezing spot all of a sudden."
Sanemi and Obanai turn to each other slowly, almost synchronized to the other, before Sanemi turns to look at the ghost. He's not really taken in how he truly looks until now, and he's immediately regretting this decision to drag Tomioka along. An empty pit settles in Sanemi's chest where his heart is supposed to be, his head going foggy. He wants to say something, but when he opens his mouth, his head is working to slow to make a single sound.
Tomioka slowly closes his eyes, and when he opens them, Sanemi can hear Mitsuri choke. Kanae looks around and gasps, Shinobu dropping her fork to her plate as she goes wide-eyed. Rengoku eerily silent. Sanemi can hear Obanai snap, his voice a hiss. "Are you fucking kidding me!? Now?"