Hi guys! Wow, I got A LOT of reviews! I am so so so happy! Thank you! Another super duper long chapter :P Sorry for the spelling/grammar mistakes, I type really fast and I really don't have time to edit this one :/ Anyway, the original tag was something really cheesy that I didn't like so I kinda made my own 'tag'. It's more like a story than a one shot, and it's kinda miserable, but I hope you enjoy it!
Day 9 - Ghost Stories
'So this is the kitchen – it's vintage but it's got all the new objects: a toaster, microwave, and oven, all that, like the one downstairs.' The woman showing Shizuo around, Namie he thought her name was, gestured to the marble countertop in the kitchen. She had a bored expression on, as if showing people around new houses was tedious. Which it probably was. But under the bored look Shizuo sensed a kind of weariness, maybe even fear. He decided not to comment on it as she led him into the corridor and up the final flight of stairs. The mansion looked like something taken out of a horror movie – huge, pristine and expensive. Except rather than standing in a desolated farm, someone built it slam in the middle of the busy city of Ikebukuro. The mansion itself was three storeys high – the bottom floor consisted of a big kitchen with polished countertops and large windows, a library stacked with dusty books, a tiny bathroom and a 'piano room', as Namie described it. Inside was nothing but a single couch, covered in white material, and no piano. The sun streaked into the room from the side of the garden, making the place look quiet and lonely.
There was a set of stairs down the corridor – they were the kind of posh marble ones like from Victorian movies, and they curved slightly, leading to the corridor on the first floor which had dark blue walls and a red velvet carpet. The second floor looked more sophisticated and mysterious than the ground floor, which was all pastel colours, large windows and snowy white curtains. On the second floor was the master bedroom with a bed way too big for Shizuo's liking and a wardrobe so big Shizuo believed he would only use ¼ of it. The bedroom had its own huge bathroom with both a bath tub and a shower, and a window that was slightly cracked. Shizuo wanted to ask about it but he was scared to interrupt Namie's super fast demonstration of objects. She nearly pushed him back out into the corridor and showed him the other rooms, unremarkable in size compared to the bedroom – another smaller bathroom (why did Shizuo need three bathrooms!?), a guest room, a spacious livingroom which for some reason wasn't on the ground floor, and a closet which was larger than Shizuo's room in his old apartment. Finally Namie led him up the second flight of stairs, these much more steep and made from wood. Here were all the useless rooms – the baby room, which Shizuo wouldn't be using any time soon, the painting room, which was empty and didn't look very 'painted', a dance room with one wall taken up completely by mirrors and another empty room which Shizuo could use for 'whatever he wanted'.
'Up there is the attic' Namie pointed to the doors at the end of the corridor. They had ten steps leading up to it so it looked like the doors were slammed randomly in the middle of the wall. 'It's all dirty and unused, so you can check it out later. You can have whatever is in there – the previous owners…' she hesitated. '…won't need it anymore.' She gave him a quick tour of the garden, which had its own lake, mini green house, patches of vegetables and even its own swing hanging from a massive oak tree. Finally the tour was over, and thank god, because Shizuo's legs were about to die.
'Okay, before I decide anything,' Shizuo said. 'I want to know what the catch is. I mean, this place is amazing, big and all, but it's not very expensive.'
Namie swallowed. 'Look, I'm going to be honest. This place has a very bloody history – a lot of deaths. Most people know about it and steer clear of the mansion. They think it's haunted. You're the first interested person I had in months. This mansion is thought to be bad luck and the government wants to take it down to make space for something more useful. That would be a shame. This place is very beautiful.' She sighed and looked at the mansion like it was friend who hurt her very much. 'So I want to sell it as fast as possible. Will you take it?' Shizuo thought for a bit. This was the best offer he had so far, but the mansion would feel lonely without a family. Still, he could invite his brother, his wife and their kids over sometimes, and his friends too. Maybe he could even find himself a roommate. But the decision would have to happen fast. He extended his hand.
'I'll take it. Cash is cool?'
*Two Weeks Later*
The paperwork and moving from his old apartment took Shizuo longer than he thought, but finally he was moved into the mansion. Most of the things were unpacked, except for the boxes in his bedroom. It had been three days since Shizuo moved in but he just couldn't bring himself to unpack. He blamed laziness.
So someone else unpacked his stuff for him.
Shizuo came home and walked up to his bedroom to find, shocked, that there was someone there. It was a young girl, maybe fifteen years old, except that she didn't look…up to date. She wore a simple kimono and strange, uncomfortable looking sandals. Clinking against her leg as she moved was a long, slightly curved sword – an actual, deadly sharp katana. The girl had short black hair and an absent look in her dark eyes. She looked up and saw Shizuo, staring at her, and imiediatly dropped what she was holding – a pile of Shizuo's shirts.
'Ah! I'm so sorry! I-I was just trying to help, since you didn't seem…to…to be able to unpack yourself. Not in a rude way, Mr Heiwajima, but just…eh' she blabbered on and Shizuo finally found his words.
'W-who are you? Are you some kind of house keeper?'
Anri smiled apologetically. 'Ah, no. My name is Sonohara Anri, and I am a Samurai's daughter. I am a ghost. I am very sorry for touching your things' she bowed quickly and Shizuo noticed something – a large splotch of red on her back, spreading through the white threads of her kimono. Shizuo felt annoyance surge up in him.
'Do you think this is some kind of joke? Look, I don't have time for…' and right there, in front of his eyes, Anri disappeared and reappeared next to him. He yelped and jumped away, staring at her wide-eyed. She bowed again.
'I am terribly sorry. I will explain, so please, sit down.' Shizuo obediently fell onto the bed with a thunk, his hands balled into fists. He licked his dry lips. Anri sat on the floor in an old-fashioned manner, her legs tucked underneath her. She took off her Katana and placed it in front of her with both hands, as if she was handling something fragile.
'I was killed in 1386. I was born in China and I had travelled here with my family of Samurai Warriors to hide away from an evil emperor. The emperor found us. My mother hid me in this mansion – only a small wooden hut then, and she ran for the woods with my brothers and father. They were slaughtered there. The soldiers came here and found me. I fought them with my father's Katana as if I was overcome by a spirit – I killed all of them. Fifty men. One of them, already dying, pierced my back and my lungs, and I died.' She didn't seem sad about that fact, like she came to terms with it. 'Over the years this hut expanded and it became what it is now. But my sword is cursed with the blood of fifty warriors and because of it, this place is cursed. Neither I nor my sword can leave, and because of it many people have died. They are bound to this place because of this sword and because of me and it cannot be helped.' Anri looked at Shizuo. 'I am asking you to leave. If you do not something could happen to you. Not every owner died but many did. If you remain here you may be in danger. However it is your choice.' With that Anri bowed again and disappeared, leaving Shizuo alone with his thoughts.
The next day, he made up his mind.
'Hey, Anri Sonohara, I hope you and your sword can hear me' Shizuo said loudly as he stood in his bedroom. 'I'm not leaving. I'm staying right freaking here.'
There's something extremely weird about coming home one day and finding a bunch of ghosts sipping tea from an old tea set in your livingroom – ghosts that include a fifty men strong force of ancient Chinese Warriors.
'Welcome home, Mr Heiwajima' Anri set her cup down and bowed as Shizuo entered, dumfounded. Her cursed sword was back at her side. 'Since you are set on staying I thought it would be wise to introduce you to my fellow ghosts so you do not get scared if they accidentally decide to use the bathroom and bump into you in the middle of the night.'
'G-ghosts use bathrooms?' Shizuo managed. Anri nodded with a shy smile.
'Of course. We may eat and drink if we please, so forgive us if your supply of food goes down sometimes. The legion' she gestured to the warriors. 'Keep together. They are afraid of me and they often choose to stay invisible, so they won't bother you.'
Shizuo tried to pretend that the whole situation didn't both him and sat down next to Anri, trying to act as calm as he was able to in the presence of numerous ghosts, one of which was a creepy girl with a sword that could stab you at any point.
'Other than the legion there are only a few other ghosts here,' Anri started brightly, as if she was saying the weather on TV or hosting a talk show. 'This is Celty,' Shizuo looked to who she was gesturing to and bit his tongue to keep back a scream. 'Celty' wore a long black skirt with a white apron, a white blouse and a red cape around her shoulders. Her head was missing and instead black smoke billowed from her neck. There was no blood. 'She was murdered in 1692 during the Salem Witch Trials. It was the only period of time when the sword' she tapped her Katana fondly. 'Was taken away from the house by a traveller and to England. Celty, unfortunately, died by it and when it was returned to the house, she became stuck here.' Celty gave Shizuo a wave with a pale hand, holding her steaming cup with the other. Shizuo gulped and nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Anri continued. 'Next we have Mikado. His father was a soldier and went crazy in 1916 after he got hurt and released from the army during world war one. He shot his whole family and then himself – strangely, everyone other than Mikado survived.' Mikado said a quick 'hi' and smiled. He didn't seem at all bothered by the fact that Anri was basically telling a stranger his life – or death – story. He wore an old fashioned leather jacket and shirt and he looked a bit like a pilot. There was a small bullet wound in his right temple but it had no blood seeping out of it, so it looked like he had a piercing there but decided to take it out.
'This is Shinra. He was a very famous doctor in 1997…'
'Oh, you're flattering me, Anri-chan' a young man in a white doctor's jacket and glasses waved his hand in the air, embarrassed. Anri giggled.
'He died of a heart attack that same year at the peak of his career. Mika here' Anri gestured to a girl with short auburn hair. She was definitely creepier than Anri – she was staring into space with a crazed smile on her lips, her fingers fluttering at the flapping skin around her neck – it looked like she slit her throat. 'Killed her boyfriend Seiji…' Anri nodded towards an unremarkable boy that sat next to Mika, holding her hand. Well, he would have been unremarkable if not for the fact that he was covered in cuts and his clothes were bloody. '…in 2009 and the killed herself. With an axe.' Anri looked at Mika like she would look at a child who ate all the cookies. In the 'don't do it again' way.
'And finally we have Kida, he…'
'Heyo!' a hyper active blonde boy waved his hand. The back of his head seemed a bit crushed in and it was littered with glass, some of the strands covered in blood. 'I'm Kida! I was killed in 2010 by my mom. She was already insane but when she found out I was involved with gangs she slammed my head against the mirror in the bathroom next to your room,' Kida sighed dramatically. 'no matter how many time you replace it, it just keeps on cracking.'
Shizuo sat in silence, and then cleared his throat. 'Well, it's nice to meet you all. I hope we get along.'
'We won't cause trouble' Anri promised. 'Celty and I sometimes do the dishes or clean around. We'll stay invisible if you like.'
Shizuo surprised himself by shaking his head. 'You don't have to do that. It must be kinda annoying to have to hide all the time. Besides, I don't mind the company. This place is way too big for me anyway. It's like having roommates.' Shizuo cringed in the general direction of the Chinese warriors. 'Thought I'd rather not have them around.'
Kida laughed. 'No problem. They don't like people much.'
Anri and Mikado smiled. 'You are very kind. Thank you.' Then Anri and Mikado exchanged looks with Celty (even though she didn't have eyes) and the two nodded at Anri.
'S-since you seem so nice,' she took a deep breath, 'I would like to ask a favour. There is another ghost. He died only last year. It was a suicide and he seems very…depressed. I don't think he actually wanted to die. Anyway, he rarely leaves the attic. It would be nice if… you talked to him. You seem like the kind of person that could make him better. There's no way he can actually hurt you.'
Shizuo nodded. 'I'll do my best.'
The attic was full of useless things. There was a pirate style treasure chest, decorated with cobwebs and a human sized hourglass filled with aquamarine sand, the glass covered with dust. In the corner stood a couch that looked like it was designed by two different people – one side was pink and fluffy, the other pitch black with skulls drawn across it. There were cuts and tears all over it. By the window stood a wardrobe, its doors missing, the inside home to a nest of mice. And in the other corner, sitting on the windowsill was the boy who took his life. Shizuo knew imiediatly how he did it. Both his wrists were bandaged and covered with blood, like he wanted to save his life after he sliced the skin. Shizuo imagined him feeling the pain, scrambling for the bandages, maybe crying, maybe calling for someone who never came. It shot a pang through his heart.
'You're Izaya' Shizuo spoken and the boy turned. He was pretty – it was the only way to describe him. He had dark eyes with a hint of red and black hair falling across his forehead. He was thin and wore black, which made Shizuo wonder if he made part of the mismatched couch. He sent Shizuo a glare.
'This is my room. Get out' his voice sounded like the boy used to laugh and grin a lot, but now he just couldn't.
'Your room' Shizuo looked around. 'Doesn't look much like a room. It's like a dump.'
Izaya hissed under his breath, not appreciating the comment.
'Whatever. You're the guy who bought the house after so long. Half the legion is talking about it. It's doing my head in.' Izaya turned away from Shizuo again. 'You got your house. Consider this room my 'house' and stay away from it.'
Shizuo ignored him and walked up to the window. Izaya's mouth twisted in a cold, mean smirk.
'You know I could break the glass right now and slice your neck open. Or I could strangle you. There's a pretty little dagger from the Victorian era in that night stand – I could stab you in the heart.'
'Fascinating' Shizuo said with a straight face. He casually took one of Izaya's wrists in his hand. It still surprised him that he could touch ghosts and that they could touch him. It unnerved him. The wrist felt small and fragile in his large hand, and the bandage was still damp from the blood. He knew the wounds underneath it weren't bleeding any more, just like every other wound on every other ghost in the house, but the bandages, which had been stained as Izaya died, had been bleeding for months. 'So you cut your wrists'
Izaya snatched his wrist back; a hurt expression on his face, like voicing what he had done made him feel the pain all over again. 'Get out. I don't want you here.'
'Your friends…'
'They're not my friends! I hate them! And I hate you, too, so just leave already!' There was a note of desperation in his voice. It made Shizuo more determined to stay.
'No'
Izaya disappeared without a sound and Shizuo was left alone in the attic.
Gradually Shizuo got used to having the ghosts around. He even became friends with some. They still creeped him out sometimes, like that one time when he was going to the bathroom and he bumped into a lost Chinese warrior, who looked sleepy, confused and more than a little embarrassed. Or when he found Mika crushing flowers with her hands in the garden, singing a nursery rhyme. Or even worse, when he walked in on Shinra, half wedged into the wall.
'Sorry. I think I got stuck' he said, and Shizuo and Celty spent the next half an hour trying to pull the ghost out of the wall. But overall living with a bunch of dead people was like living with a group of noisy, strange roommates that cooked you dinner when you came home from work but stole your coke and snacks from the fridge, who used the bathroom even though they were dead but always forgot to replace the paper, who despite of being stuck with each other for years were kind and helpful. Except Izaya.
Shizuo went to see Izaya a few more times but each time, as he entered the attic, Izaya simply shot him an angry look and disappeared. A month after Shizuo moved in, however, he went to see if Izaya was in the attic and this time the raven didn't leave.
'Stopped running away, have you?' Shizuo said, not unkindly. Izaya was reading a book and he ignored Shizuo, turning a page. Shizuo sat next to him. 'What are you reading?'
'A book' Izaya said.
'Okay, what is it about?'
'Bullshit. Happy girls dancing around in circles. Boy building campfires. Families going on trips to the beach' he tossed the book across the room.
'Wow, you're really bitter' Shizuo said.
'I am not bitter.' Izaya said.
'Okay, does something make you happy?'
'Yes. When you're not here'
'See? Bitter.' Shizuo smiled knowingly. 'You want to be left all alone and just let the bitterness consume you. It's not good for your health.'
'I'm dead. I don't need to be healthy.' Izaya growled.
'Well, you are going to spend an eternity here. You might as well make friends.' Shizuo said gently.
'Don't wanna' Izaya pouted but Shizuo could see his armour peeling off. He was happy to have someone to talk to, after over a year of sitting alone in the attic. Shizuo visited Izaya each day, but every time Izaya said how inconvenient his presence was. So one day Shizuo brought a pack of large black rubbish bags and brought them upstairs.
'What are you doing?' Izaya gave Shizuo an annoyed look.
'I'm gonna clean this place out' Shizuo said, determined. Izaya just rolled his eyes but over the next few days Shizuo spent his free time throwing the useless stuff out and using the good furniture to populate the empty rooms. He found a few beds and an entire legion of mattresses. As it turned out the attic was huge. While he cleaned the attic Shizuo also made rooms for the other ghosts – he was told the legionaries slept invisible, in the vortex inside the walls (which was super creepy and explained why Shinra got stuck), but Shizuo made sure the other ghosts were comfortable: He put an old fashioned sleeping mat and a Katana stand in the guest room for Anri to make her feel at home and got Shinra a few flasks and acids to experiment inside the painting room. Celty seemed ridiculously happy with living in the baby room, with its baby blue walls and fluffy carpets. Shizuo bought a big bed especially for Seiji and Mika and put it in the dancing room and he got Mikado the manga he likes so that he could stack it up next to his futon in his bedroom, which was now the strange empty room on the third floor. As for Kida, he was happy taking the large closet, since he didn't spend much time sleeping anyway.
After everything was cleared out of the attic Shizuo spent his free weekend painting the room white, while Izaya watched him from the corner. Shizuo passed him a paintbrush.
'Here, help me'
'No' Izaya shook his head, but Shizuo kept the paintbrush outstretched so Izaya took it gently in his hand. He stood face to face with the wooden walls, as if not sure what to do. Shizuo couldn't help but smile at the scene. He took the paintbrush from Izaya and dipped it in paint, giving it back to him. Then it hit him that Izaya hadn't painted walls in his life, so Shizuo took him gently by the hand, careful to avoid his wrist which seemed to break him down, and glided the paintbrush up and down the wall. To Shizuo's surprise, Izaya leaned into him slightly, and didn't jerk away. When the whole room was painted, Shizuo started to casually bring in furniture he thought Izaya would like – a comfy bed with black silk sheet, a night stand with a lamp, a laptop that he said he got from someone but would never use, a mirror, even a small TV.
'Stop it' Izaya said one day. Shizuo gave him a questioning look. 'Stop trying to make me like this place. It's my hell. I'm not supposed to like it.'
Shizuo reached out and ruffled Izaya's hair.
'Why don't you try enjoying things once in a while, huh?'
A few days later, after Izaya's room was done, Shizuo decided to try doing something with the piano room. When he walked in, however, he was shocked to see Izaya there, playing basic tunes on the piano that wasn't supposed to be there. Izaya didn't glance up when Shizuo entered, but the blonde knew that Izaya sensed he had come in. Shizuo took a seat on the couch, which was uncovered, quietly, and listened to the melodies Izaya played out. Twinkle-twinkle-little-star, happy-birthday-to-you and Mary-had-a-little-lamb.
Izaya looked so small, the way he was sitting on the stool next to the piano that when his fingers faltered on the keys Shizuo walked up to him and wrapped his arms around his shoulders.
'Where did you get it from?' he murmured in his ear.
'It got cut up. It's a ghost, just like me. It was invisible for a long time, but I found it.' Izaya seemed happy about it. Shizuo smiled and kissed his shoulder gently. And then Izaya turned around sharply and gave Shizuo a kiss, full out, on the mouth. Izaya gasped and quickly pulled away.
'I-I didn't mean…I didn't want…' and then he was gone, just like that.
'Wait! Izaya! Come back!' Shizuo ran his hand through his hair in frustration, but Izaya was gone. He wasn't in the attic either. Annoyed and sad, Shizuo declined dinner and went to bed. He woke up in the middle of the night. Someone was watching him. Shizuo sat up in bed, looking up at Izaya. He was standing next to him, shrouded in the shadows of the night, sniffing and wiping tears from his eyes. He was shaking. 'I'm sorry… I didn't want to wake you up' he whispered, before sinking to his knees and bursting into tears, putting his head in his arms which lay on the bed. Shizuo stroked his hair until he calmed down.
'I didn't want to die' Izaya whispered through the tears. Shizuo didn't say anything – what could he say? When Izaya's tears stopped fully he crawled into bed next to Shizuo and let the blonde wrap his arms around him.
'Why did you run away today?' Shizuo asked softly.
'Because I realised that you're still alive' Izaya said, snuggling closer to Shizuo as if the blonde could disappear and not the other way round. 'I'm dead. You'll age. I won't. When you die, you'll go away. I'll stay here forever.'
'I'm not going away' Shizuo murmured, kissing Izaya gently, and then with more force. He didn't know how it came to it, but a few minutes later neither of them had their clothes on. Ghosts couldn't change clothes but they could take them off for some reason. Izaya didn't cry out but it did hurt a little, at first. When Shizuo picked up the pace the pain turned into pleasure, making Izaya moan into the night and feel more alive than ever. Later, they lay wrapped together, whispering 'I love you' to each other all night long.
Six months later Shizuo was still alive and well. It was his twenty sixth birthday and even though he should have been happy, the birthday meant one year less with Izaya. It also meant that he was now twenty six while Izaya remained eighteen forever. Celty had baked him a cake which she was very proud of and Anri had made the rest of the dinner. Kida made party poppers from scratch and Izaya managed to bake cookies with the help of Mikado. Even the legion showed up for the birthday party and it was loud and happy. The neighbours wondered for years how that could have been since they never saw any people coming into the house, and yet the whole night was full of music and laughter, as if a whole army was crammed into the mansion. If only they knew. Not even the Ikebukuro traffic could tune out the music. Later that night Anri found Shizuo crying in his room, alone. He assured Izaya that he would come to his room in a bit, that he just needed to cool down.
'When we first met' Shizuo said, wiping away his tears. 'You said that there was no way Izaya could actually hurt me. You lied.'
Anri nodded. 'Heart break is the most painful thing.'
'I can't be with him forever. After I die he'll go back to the way he was – all lonely and depressed. After I die, he'll be alone.'
'No' Anri shook her head with a sad smile. 'He won't be alone after you die.' She placed a tube of pills on the table side and disappeared. Shizuo looked at the pills and slowly took the tube in his hand. Sometimes to really live, you have to die first.
God, I am so sorry for the miserable lemon (I'm getting there guys! Slowly...) and I'm sorry this was all so depressing. Ignore the last quote, it's not true, I just wanted to put something extra depressing at the end :p I hope you like the mood change. Tell me what you think!
