Work Text:
Takemichi is renting a haunted apartment.
He knew it was haunted right from the start.
But it was so cheap and close to his workplace. It wasn’t that small either. It was just the right size for a single person.
So, what if someone had killed himself in that place and all the people who lived there committed suicide within the first year?
With how expensive apartments in Tokyo were… Did it matter?
That's right.
Takemichi didn’t mind it either.
The real estate agent was astonished when Takemichi accepted to live in the apartment. He was so happy that he was finally able to get someone to live in it.
"A- Are you sure, Hanagaki-sama?"
Ah, he was referring to him in such a respectful way now.
"Yeah. The price is really good. What’s the worst that could happen?" Takemichi answered nonchalantly. "It’ll be just for six months anyway."
For that price, Takemichi could deal with anything.
Besides, he was too much of a coward to kill himself.
"Yes! I love your way of thinking, Hanagaki-sama. I wish more people had your mindset." The man adjusted his glasses. "I’ll be bringing the papers and the contract so you can start living here by tomorrow."
"Oh. That’s cool."
And so, Takemichi started living there on the very next day. He knew that the first few days were always more quiet. According to all the horror movies he’d seen, the ghosts are quite shy around new people. Takemichi would take advantage of that to the fullest.
The first month went by without many events. It was just random stuff appearing in places where they shouldn’t be. But Takemichi didn’t mind it that much. If anything, it was better because that way Takemichi could move more and not be so sedentary.
After the second month, things started to change.
Takemichi would wake up to hear cries of pain. It was a bit uncomfortable at first, because he always came back from work exhausted, and waking up in the middle of the night was annoying. But not much happened before Takemichi got used to them. After all, sleeping was far more important, and if he could sleep in his previous apartment, where shotguns were heard every night, he could sleep with a ghost crying.
Guns were scarier than ghosts. So whatever.
Although on some nights, motivated by the ghost cries, Takemichi couldn’t help thinking about all his life decisions and how he regretted every single one of them. He would cry along with the ghost on those nights.
"It’s- It's okay to cry." Takemichi would say out loud, trying to comfort himself and maybe the ghost if he was listening. He couldn't help feeling so pathetic. "Sometimes it’s too much, and I- I wish I had never been born."
Strangely enough, the ghost did stop crying.
Instead of the usual cries, Takemichi would feel the ghost next to him, as if it was trying to keep him company. And Takemichi would’ve appreciated the gesture much more if the room didn’t feel so cold when the ghost was in there.
Nothing that a pair of extra blankets couldn’t solve.
The ghost stopped messing with his stuff too, and Takemichi felt like the ghost helped him instead. His keys, which were usually so hard to find since he threw them anywhere, always appeared on the kitchen table, even when Takemichi was sure that he had thrown them somewhere else.
And then there was that other time when Takemichi had forgotten his keys. He was ready to sleep outside and wait for the landlord to give him a spare key. The door of the apartment magically opened.
"Thank you.~" Takemichi thanked the ghost as soon as he entered the apartment.
And if he felt two cold arms around his waist and someone whispering a ‘You’re welcome’, he didn’t say anything.
It was in the third month that Takemichi saw the ghost for the first time. It happened after the sink broke and he had to call a plumber to repair it.
The thing is that Takemichi, like any other person, had sexual needs. And yes, it was like those porn clichés, kinda slutty of him if he was being honest. The plumber was tall and handsome, and he seemed like a nice guy. He taught Takemichi how to solve the problem with the sink with such patience and encouraging words. Takemichi couldn’t resist.
In his defense, Takemichi never intended to do it in the first place.
It’s just that they instantly clicked and-
He was so touch starved.
It was great.
The plumber was cool. He didn’t ask for money after that. He just asked to meet on another day.
Which was a good thing for Takemichi’s tight budget.
The bad thing came the next day.
When he arrived at his apartment complex after a long shift, Takemichi noticed that the streets were unusually quiet. It was a bit weird, since the first floors were livelier. But another reason could be that he had never come home that late at night, so he shrugged it off.
Takemichi took a step forward, and a body fell into the space right next to him. The sound was so close it left him astonished for a few seconds.
What?
Takemichi turned his head to see the body. The skull was completely crushed and there was a pool of blood forming under him.
If he had been just three steps to the left, the body could’ve fallen right on top of him and he would be dead.
Oh god.
Maybe he should’ve been a little more to his left.
The person fell from one of the higher floors. His apartment was on the highest floor. Takemichi immediately looked up.
The lights in his apartment were on but immediately turned off after a second.
Fuck.
Takemichi called the ambulance and immediately went up to his apartment. He tried to open the door, but it wouldn't open.
"Open the door." He said in a low voice, not wanting his neighbors from the floor below to hear him. He didn’t want to be involved in… whatever happened with that man. "Let me in. Please."
Like magic.
Except it's not magic.
The door opened itself.
His apartment was in complete darkness, but the dim light coming from the hall seeped into the place.
Takemichi saw a man wearing black clothes. His hair was white and his eye bags contrasted a lot with the paleness of his skin. Takemichi was left astonished for the second time that night.
That’s when Takemichi saw him for the first time.
He found out that his name was Mikey.
The next day, the face of the plumber, along with a picture of his apartment complex appeared on the news when Takemichi was having breakfast.
He almost spit out the coffee he was drinking. He immediately looked at Mikey, who was sitting right in front of him as if nothing important happened.
"Was it you!?" Takemichi asked.
"Yeah." Mikey didn’t seem bothered at all by the accusation. "It was me."
"Fuck. Why’d you do that? We-." Takemichi sighed.
What a bummer. Just when Takemichi thought he had made a new friend.
"I know. I saw you. That’s why."
"…" Takemichi was left speechless. "Did you- Did you see us?"
"Yes." Mikey said in such a flat voice that made Takemichi feel embarrassed.
"Oh. Sorry about that." Takemichi continues sipping his coffee. "I forgot you existed."
"Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you don’t forget anymore." Mikey promised with a smile on his face.
Takemichi didn’t know whether he should be scared or not.
Before he could come up with an answer, he realized that it was getting late for his shift.
"Good bye. I’ll be waiting for you."
Was that a threat?
"Cool. Uh. Good bye."
Mikey kept his promise and was all day in Takemichi’s house. He’d always be lazing around on his sofa or in his bed. Sometimes he’d even prepare food for him when he came back late. Takemichi envied him for that.
He was now like an unemployed roommate.
Takemichi was a bit happier now. He felt like he finally had someone he could talk to and didn’t feel so alone in such a big city. Except when he remembered that Mikey wasn't a person and he was literally a ghost.
Three months flew by like that.
The day when the contract would expire was getting closer. Just two more days.
Would it be pathetic if Takemichi said that he would miss Mikey?
Takemichi was already packing his things. He was taking advantage of the free days that his boss had given him to move to a new apartment in another city now that he had been transferred. He hadn't seen Mikey since the morning, and he was curious as to where the other could be or what he was doing.
"Ne, Takemitchy." Mikey’s sudden voice startled Takemichi, who immediately turned to look at him.
"Oh. Mikey. Where have you been all d—?"
Takemichi didn’t get to finish his sentence. He felt a sharp pain in his chest. Mikey had stabbed him with the kitchen knife. "You, fucker. I just got ascended." Takemichi’s vision was slowly fading away.
Mikey took Takemichi’s body by the waist before it fell to the ground and chanted some words in Takemichi’s ear.
With two blinks of his eyes, Takemichi opened his eyes again.
He wasn’t in Mikey’s arms now. He was next to Mikey, who was carrying his body to his bed.
It was so weird to see oneself from a third perspective.
"You. Why did you kill me?" Takemichi pushed Mikey.
"You were going to leave. I didn’t want you to go." Mikey’s answer was honest. "I would’ve missed you a lot."
Takemichi sighed in exasperation.
He would’ve missed Mikey too.
After a few seconds of thinking about what to say, he opened his mouth.
"Alright. We’re ghosts who are tied to this apartment." Mikey nodded enthusiastically. "What will you do if they decide to demolish this apartment complex?" Takemichi reprimanded Mikey. "Where will we go?"
"Don’t worry, Takemitchy. There are these two women who are having a ritual downstairs. They’ve offered their firstborns to me in exchange for successful lives." Mikey explained. "And right now they’re giving birth. That’s why I decided to kill you now."
"You’re such a menace." Takemichi laughed. "Were you always that powerful?"
"Yeah. Kinda."
Was Mikey blushing?
"Well then. I- Uh. don’t know what to say." Takemichi thought for a while. "Why did you ask for their firstborns?"
"That way we’ll be born again and you’ll get to have a new life." Mikey paused for a second. "With me by your side, of course."
"W-What? A new life?" Takemichi’s heart skipped a beat. "Those nights… You heard me?"
"Yup, loud and clear."
"Mikey…" Takemichi’s eyes were filled with tears.
"I love you, Takemitchy." Mikey closed their foreheads together and kissed Takemichi, who was now crying. "Let's start a new life together."
Takemichi kissed Mikey back.
"Now, let’s go." He took one of Takemichi’s hands and guided him to the apartment below, where the two women were giving birth.
"Okay."
Mikey kept his end of the deal and made sure those women had successful lives.
Takemichi and Mikey were born on the same day.
They were raised together by the women, and they were never apart from each other.
Takemichi was seven when he finally recovered his memories. He cried his heart out and went to hug Mikey, as if it was the first time he saw him. Mikey returned the hug and kissed Takemichi on the forehead.
"You took a long time, Takemitchy."
The women were confused by Takemichi’s reaction, as they had always been together.
Whatever. They thought.