I do not own RK or any of the characters. If I did, I'll give SM the happy ending they deserved. I do own Nakamura Shunichi though.
A/N: Yet another one of my attempts at SM fiction! It has been a long time since I started on a long SM story, ever since "Love at Tokyo Tower" ended. The following story is going to be very different from the rest of the stories I've written, for it involves the supernatural. Weird eh? I have taken this big step from my usual styles partly as a challenge for myself, and also partly as I read a horror story lately. I hope you guys like this one!
Title: Six months in Heaven
Chapter One: Moving in
"It…It's just perfect, Shunichi." Takani Megumi whispered in awe as she looked around the new house in which she and her boyfriend of two years, Nakamura Shunichi had shifted into. "I am so glad we made the right choice."
It was a beautiful house; one of the rare ones in Tokyo, where apartments make up the majority. There were no stairs in it, and long, dark hallways boasted of its spacious interior and Meiji Era interior designs, adding an air of nostalgia to the old building. There were seven rooms in all, three on each side of the hallway, except for the seventh, which was immediately at the end. The slightly musty smell of the tatami and pinewood flooring lingered in the air, while dust motes danced whenever sunlight shone through into the interior. The enthusiastic agent who had sold it to them was full of praise for the building's rich history, adding that it used to be a clinic back in the Meiji Era. Just that fact alone had gotten Megumi to set her heart on buying that house, despite the dusty and untouched condition it was in. Cleaning up and doing up the place was not a problem, and Megumi felt an intense need to live there. It was as if something, or someone, was telling her to.
She didn't dare tell Shunichi, in fear of him getting worried again, but she…she felt as if she had lived there before, even though she had never stepped into such a place in all twenty-three years of her life.
But it is too late for any changes too, for while she was thinking all these, the delivery men were already well into their task of shifting the furniture in, cleaning up the place and installing electrical appliances. Megumi couldn't help but get a little disappointed at how the modern furniture from their previous Manhattan-themed apartment disrupted the calm, ancient peace in the new house.
"And I am glad too, to see you back to your old self." Shunichi smiled, putting his arm around Megumi's slender shoulders and guiding her to the leather couch which they had just brought in. "The change in environment will do you good, sweetheart. It's time to forget all the unpleasant things that happened, don't you agree?"
Megumi nodded with a small, weak smile as her thoughts ran back to the "unpleasant things" Shunichi had mentioned. To call it unpleasant would be an understatement; it was downright traumatising and disturbing. Ever since she turned twenty-three two months ago, Megumi had been plagued by visions and voices every night without fail, waking up from her sleep drenched in sweat, crying uncontrollably. Shunichi, of course, being the rational person he was, assured her that it was just recurring nightmares, and suggested that perhaps they should go for a change in environment and unwind a little. He was convinced that her visions were caused by stress at work, lack of sleep and the same old monotonous environment everyday.
Megumi knew there was more to it, even though she desperately hoped to take Shunichi's words for it to be a nightmare. "Nightmare" wouldn't be an appropriate word for it; not when there was hardly anything frightening, but more of sad. The dreams were incredibly vivid, so vivid to the extent that Megumi felt as if she was right there, witnessing every single happening.
The dreams were the same every night, involving the same person.
He was in all her dreams. Every single one of them.
Spiky, gravity-defying brown hair.
Tall, strong built.
Muscular limbs and bandaged hands.
With the "aku" kanji on the back of his jacket.
Megumi never got to see his face though. Every time she got close to see his face, she would wake up with a start.
It had always been puzzling to Megumi how dreams, no matter how vivid they were, can be soon forgotten after one opened one's eyes.
But it was a different case for these dreams. She remembered all of them, every single detail, and every single dialogue that took place. There were so many scenes – some peaceful, like the traditional natsu matsuri she saw herself attending with some other girls, some unbearably sad, like the one in which she was about to kill herself. Megumi didn't know why she would want to end her own life in that dream; all she felt was an overwhelming sense of pain, guilt, shame and a desperate need to seek spiritual peace. The shiny blade of the tantou glinted in the lights of the dimly-lit room, as she raised it to her exposed wrist, ready to apply pressure onto the smooth skin and cut into the pulsing artery…
Until a large, calloused hand reached up swiftly and gripped the blade tightly, jolting her out of her grim death wish state. Flecks of crimson flew as the blade was pulled out of her grip, causing Megumi to grimace with the gruesomeness of it all, and the pain it was causing the one holding the blade. She looked up, only to see-
"Megumi…Megumi!" An anxious voice brought her back to reality. "Megumi! Are you alright?"
"I-I am fine, Shunichi," Megumi quickly recovered, hurriedly placing a smile on her face for Shunichi, whose handsome face was now filled with worry and a look of suspicion. That was where her dream ended as well…Megumi had started sobbing and whimpering in her sleep by then, and Shunichi had woken her up. "I really am."
"Are you seeing things again?" He asked warily. Megumi couldn't help but notice, that beneath the concern, there was an underlying tone of irritation struck by fear.
"No…I am not," Megumi lied, pulling away from Shunichi's hold and standing up. "Really."
"Are you sure? You don't seem that fine to me…" He looked at her in disbelief, reaching out for her hand at the same time.
"I am fine! Why won't you believe me? I am alright, Shunichi, you don't have to look at me like that!" Megumi shouted, making sure that her hand was out of his reach.
Shunichi stood up abruptly, walking over to a visibly upset Megumi and hugged her tightly to himself, stroking her long ebony tresses soothingly. "I am sorry; darling…I didn't mean it that way..."
Megumi wanted to slap herself for being so volatile.
This is Shunichi, for goodness' sake! He went to all this extent for you, and here you are, throwing stupid tantrums because of some dreams! Megumi screamed at herself inwardly.
"I-I am sorry, Shunichi. I reacted too violently…" She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts, before regarding her boyfriend with an apologetic look. It even sounds ridiculous to herself - Getting all worked up over visions and dreams which have hardly any scientific basis.
"It's alright, I am not mad…I mean, we are all stressed over the sudden change. But trust me, sweetheart, it is going to be worth it."
We were walking along the streets of Tokyo at sunset, back to the dojo where we would be having dinner together. The gentle rays of the setting sun cast long shadows on the path, bathing the city in its glow before nightfall set in. I happened to be on leave, and was about to visit all at Kamiya Dojo, especially a certain guy, when I met them along the way.
Kaoru was, as usual, not very happy to see me. I could just see fumes rising from her head when I started talking to Ken-san. "Foxes are prohibited at my place!" She shouted, her fists clenched as she stared at me. Of course, I was just too used to this and proceeded to patronize her with a smile.
Yahiko was called a "traitor" by Kaoru for proclaiming that her cooking skills were less than adequate, immediately coming over to my side when I offered to prepare dinner in Kaoru's place. Ken-san was as usual, smiling amicably, watching the barrage of words exchanged between an irate Kaoru and a very hungry Yahiko.
Along the path we slowly walked, enjoying each others' presence, making small talk and occasionally laughing at Yahiko's insensitive comments on Kaoru's cooking. The dojo came into sight as Kaoru unlocked the wooden gates, and I saw the broad smile on Kenshin's face disappear instantly.
Following his gaze, I saw the source of his shock.
There, on the right side of the dojo's entrance, was an ugly gaping hole. It was large enough for a full-grown man to pass through, with splinters of wood and dust littering the ground around it. Whatever caused it definitely involved a very strong impact, so strong to the extent that it drove through the sturdy dojo wall.
"What happened…?" I mumbled dumbly, the shock of seeing such extensive damage cutting off my ability to think calmly at that instant.
Kaoru was definitely as shocked, if not more, as I was, seeing her dojo getting wrecked in such a manner. "What on earth happened?"
Kenshin's back suddenly stiffened, causing all of us to turn sharply and look at him.
"The smell of blood…"
A sudden chill ran down the length of my spine. There was something terribly wrong, and from Kenshin's expression, I knew that my worry was not unfounded. I knew something had happened, and it…it involved him. There was no one else who could have been at the dojo at this hour.
Picking up my skirt, I ran behind Kenshin, sprinting for all I was worth to the entrance of the dojo. The fear was suffocating, and I tried to fight the discomfort of the rising bile in my throat. Please be alright, I found myself praying fervently.
Kenshin pushed the door open forcefully and I had to hold back a scream as the door opened to reveal-
An ear-piercing scream echoed around the interior of the small room as Takani Megumi bolted up abruptly, clutched her head with her hands and shrieked. The dream almost seemed real, and the blood…all that blood…plus the dreadful feeling deep in her gut made her feel as if she was falling down a bottomless pit, falling and falling with nothing to hold on to.
"Megumi! What happened, darling? Are you alright?" Shunichi exclaimed, his voice slightly hoarse from sleep, as he woke up to the sight of his girlfriend sitting straight up in the bed, knees drawn to her chest, breathing hard and shaking like a leaf. Her lower lip was trembling too, as she stared straight ahead at nothing in particular. "Darling, are you OK? Talk to me, answer me!"
"T-The…the…b-blood, it…it was all…all over the pl-place…" Megumi stammered, her long, thin fingers gripping the covers so tightly, her knuckles were turning white. "And…he…he was so badly hurt!"
"He? Who?" Shunichi asked, throwing his arms around Megumi and pulling her close to himself, before saying soothingly like a mother comforting a young child. "It's just a dream, my dear. It's just a dream. Look around you…there's no blood, right? It's just a bad, bad dream."
"I…I don't know who he is…" Megumi said shakily, trying hard to recall more. "Everything seemed so…so…real! I-I felt as if…as if I was right there, witnessing it for myself-"
"See? You've forgotten about him, whoever he is. That's why they are nightmares, darling. They are not real. You feel as if you were there, but in real fact, you're not. All you need is a glass of hot water to calm yourself down." Shunichi said gently but firmly, placing emphasis on the words 'as if', before moving up from the bed. "I'll get you a glass from the kitchen. Wait here, Megumi. Don't think so much about it, alright?"
"Shunichi, there really is something out there-"
"Since when did you believe in the supernatural? There's no such thing as ghosts or spirits or whatsoever. You told me that before, didn't you? No matter how rational one is, there's always this tiny bit of superstition in us. Don't read too much into it, sweetheart." Shunichi countered gently, stopping Megumi in mid-sentence. "Now just give me a minute to get that…"
The next few words were not heard as Shunichi opened and shut the door, walking out of the room. Megumi took a few steady breaths to calm herself down. Suddenly, she felt awkwardly exposed, vulnerable and alone in that room, complete with its Meiji Era designs and floorboards. It was as if Shunichi was her living link to reality; this place made her feel as in she was lost in time, stuck in the past she once had. Sitting in the middle of the bed made her feel extremely uneasy…there was someone out there, watching her intently.
She couldn't see who in was in the dim light of the bedside lamp, but she could very well feel it. A presence that seemed to occupy the entire room, enveloping her in its very existence. Megumi shivered involuntarily, for the cold was now rising in the room, invading every inch of space.
Megumi strained her ears to catch the sounds of Shunichi moving around in the kitchen, reassuring herself the whole time that he was just out there and she was not alone.
Since when did you believe in such things, Megumi? Ghosts do not exist. They are a mere figment of imagination. You are just tired and stressed up.
Yes, that must be it.
Despite the reassurances, she did not feel any better. The nagging feeling of being scrutinized was still haunting her, suffocating her as she tried to hide underneath the covers to avoid the unwelcome intruder. The pressing feeling did not cease, instead, it was as if the gaze penetrated everything physical to look into her soul.
Throwing the covers back in frustration and fear, Megumi sat up straight in the bed, putting a look of what she hoped to be a fearless one.
"Who are you?" Her whisper sounded crude and violent in the emptiness. "Who are you?"
To be continued…
A/N: There you have it! The first chapter to this ghost story. Just to clarify once again, Shunichi is an OC of mine. I initially thought of using Enishi/Aoshi etc, but realized that it would make things seem a lot more complicated from what I planned them to be. After all, Megumi is getting visions of her past, and they are involved in her past. Imagine dreaming of Enishi trying to murder Kenshin and waking up to see him lying next to you. Hmmm. Weird. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read this.
Please review if you enjoyed it! I look forward to hearing from you guys!
Natsu matsuri – Summer festival
Tantou - dagger
