Hide could feel something following him, a presence perhaps, ever since he moved back to Tokyo.
He was sure that nobody was actually there though because he'd looked into every room and every cabinet and every little space that could possibly hold life in his new home and nothing popped up. Not even a critter. Today marked the first week of constant glances behind him, of slightly shifted items in his house, and muttering during the night. He'd actually thought the muttering came from his next-door neighbor but when he asked about them, he'd learned he was the only inhabitant on the second floor.
"I can't do this anymore!" he exclaimed, pushing away his blankets.
Contrary to popular belief, vampires did have fears, and his was not knowing what was going on.
He reached over to his bedside table to grab his phone. Touka had to know something, after all, she had been the one who set him up at this apartment.
"What do you want Nagachika," came her curt voice after the third ring.
"Ahh~ is that any way to talk with your resident vampire?" he teased, a grin easily wiping away the frustration he felt. If there was one thing he loved more than getting a fill of delicious blood, it was probably getting a rise out of the stoic and beautiful Touka.
"You do realize it's 2AM don't you?" there was shuffling on the other end and Hide could just imagine Touka reaching out for something on her bedside table. Probably those sleeping pills she took in order to sleep at night.
"About that..." he paused, not quite sure how to phrase his question, "you wouldn't happen to know of any...there aren't any...I mean, I know there's probably other creatures out in the world since I'm a vampire and all-"
"Just spit it out!"
Hide gulped and lowered his voice. He even cupped the phone closer to him, "Is my house...haunted?"
Silence answered him.
"It is isn't it!" he exclaimed, crossing his arms and using his shoulder to cradle his phone, "why didn't you tell me?"
"Look, it's not a big deal, you're a vampire, whatever is there isn't going to hurt you. Probably can't touch-"
"It's a bit late Touka, thanks a bunch but I gotta go now!"
"Hide, wait, don't just-"
And Hide hung up the phone. He was 100% sure Touka was going to make him pay for it later but at this point he didn't care. A ghost in his house? He had to find it! Find out who they were, why they were here, what did they eat...actually, did ghosts eat? What had they been mumbling about? Hide had heard it a couple times but had never actually paid attention to the words, more preoccupied with shutting the sounds off. Could they really not touch anything?
He had so many questions!
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Ken watched as the strange man who now lived in his home ran around his room grabbing clothes. It looked like he was in a hurry but that only confused him. It was still dark outside and he knew nothing was open. His mom did say all the shops closed at 9 at night and opened when the sun came up. But then, this person was strange from the very first time Ken had seen him.
He didn't eat food like Ken remembered doing when he woke up in the mornings or when he came back from school. The man also put on makeup before going out sometimes. Not a lot but enough to change the way he looked. Without the makeup, he looked a bit sick but when he used the little powders, a bit of color came back to his skin. Honestly, Ken liked how the man looked without the makeup. It made him look a little more like he did, someone without color. He raised his hand to his face and could still see the man moving around his room.
A backpack, his wallet, some money.
That's when the man turned around quickly but Ken was quicker. He merged back into the wall where he had been hiding and waited until he heard movement again. He peered into the room only to hear the man whistling a happy tune. They had also been playing this game for a week now. Ken wasn't sure why he hid from the man but he naturally did it and so continued to do so. He shook his head. No, that wasn't entirely true...
"I'll be back later Mr. Ghost!"
Ken smiled a little and whispered, "Ok"
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Now that Hide knew that there was a ghost in his house, he felt more at ease. Sure, he had so many questions and knew next to nothing about ghosts but that's where his late night visit to campus had been for. He fished for the keys in his pocket, balancing a precarious amount of books in one hand and a grocery bag in another. He wasn't technically allowed in the university until the next semester but breaking into colleges was one of the easiest things in the world!
"I'm home!" he exclaimed as he entered. Again, nobody responded but Hide liked to think the ghost heard him and acknowledged him.
He deposited all the books in his hands on the living room table, unpacked all the others in his bag, and left the grocery bag on the floor. He had picked out some books on both vampires and ghosts. Since he didn't know about his little transparent friend, chances were they didn't know about him either. Especially if he was confined to this apartment. He made a mental note to ask about how far they could travel.
As he was laying out the books he felt the presence again but this time, he resisted the urge to turn towards them. Instead, he started to speak, "Hey, Mr. Ghost...I went to the library to check out some books after my friend told me you were here. You're actually the first ghost I've ever encountered, which is saying a lot because I'm really old, hmm, though maybe you are too. Do ghosts live a long time? Anyways, I thought we could be friends and just get to know each other, what do you say?"
It was still quiet and Hide briefly wondered if ghosts could even hear...that would actually be a problem, would they know sign language? Maybe they could both learn it and-
Hide smiled at the transparent figure peering out at him from behind the little TV he'd bought ages ago.
"I knew we'd finally meet!" he exclaimed and then promptly coughed, apologizing, "uh, sorry, I'm...naturally loud."
The ghost that had nearly disappeared into his wall appeared again and Hide could see that it was only a child. He blinked, weren't ghosts people who died and couldn't pass on? Did that mean this child had died at, what, age ten or something? His brows wrinkled slightly at the thought.
"Come on, sit over here, I won't bite..." or can't bite you at least, Hide thought.
The child seemed to ponder his invitation but Hide knew he'd won when those grey eyes moved to the pile of books and slightly sparkled? Did ghost eyes sparkle? He wasn't sure but he'd seen interest in them! The boy floated over and knelt before the table on Hide's opposite side.
"There we are! That wasn't so bad now, was it?" Hide grinned, "By the way, I'm Hideyoshi Nagachika but you can call me Hide!"
The ghost boy nodded slightly, "I'm...my name is...Ken..."
Hide waited a second longer, wondering if he'd get the rest of his name but when nothing escaped those small lips he just smiled, "That's a great name! Hey, do you like to read?"
The boy nodded shyly and if he weren't a ghost (and therefore monochrome), Hide was sure he'd be sporting a blush.
"That's good because I brought us some books to look at about ghosts-" he noticed the boy flinch slightly "-and vampires, oh I'm a vampire but don't worry! I'm not like the ones you hear about in myths or anything," he quickly assured the boy. He scratched his cheek, "well, not entirely at least."
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Ken listened to the man - Hide - talk while he skimmed through the books he'd brought back. A couple of them were harder to follow, courtesy of him being a child, but others he was able to read without problems. He wasn't sure he liked the facts that were written about his state of...unliving, and more so about vampires! Part of him was glad that he couldn't be touched because as much as Hide was nice and smiled big and had a bright mop of hair...if he were like the big fanged creatures that tore at people's throats...well, Ken didn't want to end up like those people! Coming back like mindless zombies.
Something must have shown on his face because Hide began to laugh. It was loud like everything else about him and Ken felt a bit anxious, had he done something wrong?
"Come on Ken, don't go, just, the look on your face," he grinned, "I guess I haven't seen someone look at me like that in a while."
Ken wondered if that was because people didn't know he was a vampire or (he shuddered) because people didn't even get the chance to...
"Ok, how about this, why don't we stop reading these because honestly, they're a load of bull, dying from light exposure and stakes through the heart? Our heart is dead, why would it matter if you pierce it or not?" Hide shook his head dramatically as he placed a pale hand to his chest, "And instead we tell each other the real facts? How does that sound?"
Ken watched those brown eyes smile at him. It was nothing sinister either. All Ken could see was curiosity and lightheartedness. He remembered his mother's words about not trusting strangers because they always had ulterior motives, but this vampire...he didn't seem so bad to him.
He smiled back, "OK"