Chapter Text
The car swung onto a dirt road. Atsushi felt himself be pulled by the force of the turn. He was rigid and stiff. Akutagawa sat next to him, he grimaced in disgust as Atsushi moved closer because of the movement. Atsushi scooched away again. He glanced out the window. They were in the middle of nowhere. Thick and dark forest all around. Atsushi had never been more nervous.
This was far from his first investigation. But for some reason… This one felt… Different… It felt wrong to even try to go to the abandoned asylum, let alone go inside. A shiver ran down Atsushi’s back. This might be the most dangerous investigation. Ever. There are so many negative energies here. It made Atsushi sick to his stomach.
“You alright?” Akutagawa asked. His voice was like an anchor for Atsushi. Bringing him back to real life. Back inside the car as the asylum came into view. He glanced at Akutagawa. He then realized that he was panting.
“Y-yeah…” Atsushi’s hand goes to his chest. Searching for his cross necklace. But it wasn’t there. Absolute dread went through Atsushi's entire body. How had he forgotten his necklace?.. Before Atsushi could go to the back of his mind to try and figure out where he left his necklace, Akutagawa was grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and dragging him out of the back of the van.
Kunikida shook his head in disappointment, but didn't say anything. Instead he turned to Ranpo, who was organizing the papers of what they knew about the asylum.
They are the Ghost Hunting Agency. Atsushi and Akutagawa are the two who run the vlog for the GHA. Ranpo usually just helps to piece all the information together and find the answers. Kunikida keeps all the schedules together. Gin goes to the places that request help and finds out information, Higuchi writes that information down. Fukuzawa is the boss and runs the entire organization. Tanizaki and Naomi are the ones who answer calls from people, like clients or fans of the vlog. There are a few more people.
Right now they had agreed to help the police with a death that might be connected to paranormal activity. This is why Atsushi, Akutagawa, Kunikida, and Ranpo are standing in front of an abandoned asylum in the middle of nowhere. Or at least it felt like nowhere.
Ranpo cleared his throat before speaking. “The video showed a man being pushed by something, or someone, that is invisible. But you all already knew that. Now let's talk about what we know. Positive ghosts. Two kids, their names are Kyouka and Kenji we think. Kenji must have had ADHD and some kind of food disorder, according to some of these old documents found. Kyouka didn't have much, but people say that Kyouka isn't very aggressive. Just quiet and emotionless sounding.”
Ranpo handed Atsushi the documents. They had pictures of the old documents, the color was there so it was easier to see the damage. Blood and some other liquids had been spilled on them. Atsushi felt disturbed by that. Also the fact Akutagawa was looking over his shoulder.
“Next is Sigma. We think he also only had a disorder that was labeled as insanity. Like autism or depression or anxiety. Who knows. Edgar Allen Poe, he was a reporter. He was investigating the insane asylum for having reports of abuse and assault. Poe was found dead on his desk. Sadly no one knew until a nurse admitted to helping hide his body… Also beware of a raccoon in his office. He refused to leave, now people just call him Karl.” Ranpo was now grinning as he spoke. It eased Atsushi a bit. Akutagawa was as tense as usual.
“Bram is a patient we don’t know much about.” Ranpo got serious again. ”He was convinced he had turned into a vampire, according to some handwritten notes we found. But these can be fake. Odasaku was a nurse who took care of the kids. He is very nice. And Yosano was a doctor. She thought she was helping, according to her testimony after the owner, Mori, sued her for abusing a patient. After this we don’t know what happened.” Ranpo handed more documents to Atsushi to look over. Atsushi usually handles the more positive ghosts, while Akutagawa handles the more aggressive and negative ghosts.
Ranpo turned to Akutagawa. “There are six negative ghosts. Fyodor was the one to buy the asylum, he was a bit of a mad scientist. He came all the way from Russia. And had gotten an insane patient from Ukraine. Nikolai. These two… History would rather not acknowledge it. But they were both very close. Possibly intimate. And strangely romantic. No one knows what happened. But they were both found dead. Fyodor will try to manipulate you. And Nikolai will never take anything seriously. But Nikolai’s mood tends to fluctuate. So be careful.” Ranpo handed those documents over to Akutagawa, never breaking eye contact. To Atsushi they seemed to not always get along. Or maybe they both became serious around each other.
“Next is Chuuya. He was a patient for being overly aggressive. But for some reason…” Ranpo pulled a small piece of old paper. “Here he is registered as a nurse.” Atsushi looked at the old yellowed paper. There was dirt smudges and tears all over the paper. A few names were put down. But sure enough. “Nakahara Chuuya” was in bold under a heading saying “Nurses”.
“Chuuya was an alcoholic and smoked. Apparently he got mad and left a cigarette on the wood floor and burned a bit of the building down. But that’s just a rumour. Dazai, a very suicidal man, was Chuuya’s patient. They were also said to be romantic together. More like Dazai flirted with Chuuya.” Ranpo rolled his eyes as he gave the papers and documents to Akutagawa, now the stack was starting to get thin. “Can’t people just call them gay?”
Akutagawa shook his head. “No one in the past would accept that. Even though pirates and other people who don’t follow the law, were gay.” Atsushi felt his cheeks warm.
“Can we move on from gay…stuff? How do Chuuya and Dazai act?” Atsushi finally asked once he got the courage to try and change the subject.
“Fine!” Ranpo sighed dramatically. “Dazai will also try to manipulate you. Chuuya is usually mad all the time. Stuck in eternal rage. But sometimes he calms down. Next is Mori. All we know is that he was the last owner before he disappeared and left the asylum behind. Lastly is Q. The most dangerous. I personally think that they are a demon pretending to be a child. So be careful with them.”
Then with all the documents they needed and daylight to spare they grab their things and head toward the asylum. Atsushi carried flashlights and other things for the ghosts to interact with. Akutagawa carried the cameras and filming equipment.
The asylum was once white and silver. But now it had yellowed in age and gotten dirty. Vines and other plants were climbing up the walls. Broken glass from the windows had been scattered across the ground. Moss and mushrooms grew in the damp shade of the ground before the entrance. The entrance was broken, one of the doors was off its hinges and the other was stuck. Beyond the doors was a dark lobby.
Finally Atsushi and Akutagawa made it inside and entered into the darkness.