Work Text:
It's been a week since Tsuzuru moved into his own apartment. It was a simple one, with a study, a kitchen, a bathroom and his own room. He'd argue that it was perfect, considering it was peaceful and cheap. But the place was a little rundown, and the water wasn't working on the first day he came in.
It was only the second week when the more… paranormal things started happening. His first all-nighter was a Monday, as he finished up writing an essay for school alongside a chapter of a story he needed to finish very soon. The walls were thin so he heard it when a faucet turned on somewhere.
At first, he felt uncomfortable, considering he was alone and all. But then he felt more inconvenienced than anything, because 1) that totally snapped him out of his zone, and 2) he needed to get up and turn that faucet off. He willed himself to get up by reminding himself of the water bill, and he needed to refill his cup of coffee anyway.
After that, he went back to writing like nothing happened.
The second incident happened when he was asleep. He could hear thuds and bumps, but he kept his eyes shut as he reminded himself that he lived alone and he shouldn't be worrying about his brothers running about in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, when he was just about ready to totally doze off, a rapid knocking pounded on his bedroom door, making him shoot up in a panic. It seized once he was up, letting him exhale cautiously.
He slowly made his way towards the door, wrapping his numb fingers around the cold knob and twisting it open. No one was on the other side. He groaned and nearly shut the door heavily, if it weren't for his fear of disturbing his neighbors. He hopped back into bed and got comfortable again, deciding to just figure out whatever the hell that was tomorrow.
Except that the knocking was back in its urgency, and Tsuzuru couldn't ignore it. Instead, he yelled as loudly as he could.
“GO TO BED!!”
Whoever it was complied.
The third time was in the same week, when Tsuzuru was up at ass o'clock making coffee to finally finish that damned chapter he needed to send in. The deadline was tomorrow after all. He was stirring the coffee with a spoon, lost in thought, when a voice whispered in his ear.
“Leave.”
A chill ran down his spine, and he whipped his head around, searching for the owner of the voice. No one was there but himself, and he felt all the hair stand from his body. But then, he shook it off, tapping the spoon on the cup before setting it aside in the sink. He needed to focus on his work, or else he wouldn't be able to eat anything for the next month.
He sat down on his chair in the small, cramped room that was his study and turned on his laptop. Something lands on his shoulder, like a hand that was far too cold to be alive, but he swats it off like it was a fly. He was totally imagining things, right?
Just as he thought that, the closet door opened next to him, making him freeze in his seat. This time, he gathered the courage to speak. “Is anyone there?”
“Leave.”
He was frozen in his seat, frightened, but somehow he still felt offended. “Leave? Are you serious?” he said. “I can't just leave! This is the cheapest place I can afford that's close to my college!”
Whoever it was, didn't respond, so he stood up (miraculously, even with his knees shaking) and he approached the closet doors. As if bracing himself for what he might see, he closed his eyes and pulled both doors wide open. And then he abruptly opened his eyes to see…
Nothing. Jesus Christ.
Just as he let out a sigh of relief, the closet doors shut themselves forcefully, loudly, and a deep voice yelled at him, “LEAVE!!”
He stumbled back, onto a desk with an empty vase on it. He grabbed the vase before it could fall and hit the ground, and then readied it like he was about to hit whoever it was haunting him. “Oh god, oh no, oh no way,” he muttered. “Sorry, but I can't leave, I'm literally broke as hell.”
Silence.
Did Tsuzuru scare him away? He was almost relieved when three consecutive knocks echoed through the room. It came from the closet. “Hello?” he called, “who are you?”
Three more knocks, and he raised the vase a little higher. “I asked, who are you?”
“... Sankaku.”
“W-what?” Tsuzuru strained his ears. The voice had now dropped to a whisper. “Did you say… triangle?”
The doors opened once again, and this time, instead of nothing, there was a piece of paper at the bottom. It was folded into a triangle. Without letting go of the vase, Tsuzuru approached carefully, feeling a cold breeze move past him as he did. He crouched down and picked up the note, managing to unfold it with just one hand, it read…
三角.
“This literally just reads triangle!!” he complained, but a voice behind him corrected.
“Mi. Su. Mi.”
He turned around and jumped straight into the closet when he saw a man seated on the table where the vase once sat. “It's Misumi,” said the man with a cat-like grin. “What's your name?”
“T-Tsu-Tsu-Tsu…” He quivered as he held onto the vase for dear life, now using it more like a pillow to hug than a weapon for self-defense. The man perched on the table looked human, if only it weren't for the way his other eye looks red and bloated. He was also translucent, and Tsuzuru could see the patterns of the wallpaper through him.
“Tsu… Tsu-Tsu!! Is that your name?” The man… ghost? The ghost asked cheerily. “Hi, Tsu-Tsu! I'm Misumi! I like triangles!”
“N-no!” he yelled. “My names Tsuzuru and I live here!! I'm broke and I can't leave!”
Misumi tilted his head, leaning forward. “You won't leave?”
“No?” Tsuzuru replied. “I can't really go anywhere else, you know. I thought this was a pretty good place, but I didn't know I'd have a roommate…”
Misumi hummed, or purred. “Roommate,” he repeated. “You mean, we can be roommates…?”
“What? I don't know.” Tsuzuru was unsure, because quite frankly, he was tired and it's 3am and he still needed to work on his papers.
“Everyone who's ever lived here left,” said Misumi. “Or tried to make me leave. I've never had a roommate before…!” Tsuzuru might have made a mistake. “So, so…? Can we be roommates!?”
“I- I guess…” Tsuzuru isn't awake enough for this. “I mean, if you're a ghost, then you don't have to pay the bills or anything, huh…? So, you're not actually free-loading.” He considered it for a second while Misumi stared at him with big, triangular eyes. “S-sure.”
“Uwah!! Yes! A triangle roommate! I have a triangle roommate!! Will you bring me many triangles, Tsuzuru~?”
“What does that mean?”
“We can be triangle buddies!”
“... Right. Okay.”