Disclaimer! I do not own Bungou Stray Dogs. The characters are owned by Kafka Asagiri and illustrated by Sango Harukawa. The only things I own are my storyline and OC's. I am not making money off of this story, nor do I plan to.
This story takes place sometime after season 3 of the anime. This can be seen as canon divergence as I do not follow the manga nor the light novels.
…...
"It's called The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain." Charlie blurted out, voice scratchy and hoarse, and Chuuya raised an eyebrow, the ghost that always followed Chuuya tilted his head.
"Okay. What does it do? What was that thing that you made visible? It didn't look human." He said, and she nodded,
"It is a human. Or- it was. It was a ghost." She whispered the last part, but Chuuya picked up on it.
"A ghost?" He didn't run away screaming or look entirely unconvinced, so Charlie took that as a good sign.
"Yes, a ghost. My ability allows me to see dead people."
There it was; she had dropped the bomb. She hadn't told anyone about her ability in years; Mori didn't even know the full extent of her ability. The only ones who knew about her ability were her family, a few acquaintances, most ghosts she came in contact with, and now Chuuya. Marley didn't know, the Port Mafia didn't know, heck, some spirits didn't even know.
"You see dead people. Like that old movie Sixth Sense?" At this, Charlie snorted and winced at the pain in her throat,
"If you want to believe that, then sure. I see the ghosts of some, not all, people who pass away. People who die violent deaths, or if they have something unfulfilled they want to do, are the people who come back as ghosts. They follow the living too. You have a ghost following you too." She said and began to panic as Chuuya started to look unconvinced. She needed him to believe her. She couldn't be written off as crazy, not again.
"Oh really?" Chuuya sat back in his seat, and the ghost over his shoulder drifted closer, passing through Chuyua and to the other side of Charlie's bed. Charlie looked at him, frowning as he leaned down.
"Tell him my name, tell him my name. Arthur Rimbaud, though he might know me more as Rando." The ghost whispered, and Charlie looked back to Chuuya, who had raised an eyebrow.
"Arthur Rimbaud, though you might know him as Rando." She said and watched the color drain from Chuuya's face.
"How- how do you know that name?" He demanded, and Charlie shrugged,
"He's here, you know; he told me his name." She replied, and Chuuya shook his head,
"He died; I killed him. He can't be here." He said as if trying to reason with himself, and Rimbaud shook his head with a smile.
"He's here, I told you; it's my ability."
Chuuya clenched his fists; teeth gritted as he glared at the floor.
"Why is he here." It wasn't a question; it was a demand. Charlie looked towards Rimbaud. The ghost was silent for a beat or two.
"It has to do with Arahabaki. That's all I'll say for now." He finally said, and when Charlie repeated his words, she frowned at Chuuya's stricken expression. She was nervous; she had never seen Chuuya this nervous.
A nurse entered the room and cut off their conversation. She gave Charlie a comforting smile and quickly checked her vitals before speaking.
"Miss Dickens, your family is here to see you. We had to contact them after your accident." She said, and Charlie's world dropped out from underneath her.
Charlie was chewing her lip as the nurse left to bring in Charlie's family. Chuuya simply looked at her with an unreadable look on his face; he had gone quiet after the nurse had dropped the proverbial nuke on Charlie.
"Why are you so nervous?" He asked suddenly, and Charlie jumped, pulling her thumbnail from her mouth as she looked over to the mafioso.
"My family and I don't exactly get along. I'm the only ability user in the family, and they don't exactly like that." She said curtly, and before she could say anything else, the door to her room burst open.
A woman with graying hair tied back in a tight bun was at the forefront of the group of eight people; her hand wrapped tightly around the small hand of an 8-year-old boy. She looked upset, half-moon glasses hid her eyes, and she was clothed in a smart-looking pantsuit serving a rather intimidating aura. Her gray eyes lit on Charlie, and her lips curled down in a deep frown.
"Look at the mess you made, Charlene!" She shrieked, and Charlie winced,
"Hello, Mother."
…
Charlie and Chuuya were both uncomfortable as Charlie's family all filed into the room.
There was Charlie's mother and father, Elizabeth and John, respectively. Her father was strangely absent, but Charlie figured he couldn't be bothered and was likely working at home at his law firm back in England.
Then there was her older sister Frances, or as Charlie called her, Fanny. She was a twenty-five-year-old hospital resident, training to be an E.R. doctor, fresh out of medical school, and a resident at a hospital from London.
Then came all of her younger siblings. There was Allen. Her twenty-two-year-old brother who was a sergeant in the police force.
After Allen was Letitia, affectionately nicknamed Lottie, a nineteen-year-old university student and the tallest of the Dickens girls, then came Harriet—a sixteen-year-old student.
After Harriet came Charlie's three youngest brothers: Frederick—fifteen years old, Alfred—thirteen years old, and Augustus—eight years old.
Why they were all there, Charlie hadn't the faintest clue. But she guessed she was about to find out.
…
Charlie was fidgeting in her hospital bed as her mother began to talk in loud and angry English.
"Honestly! You go and get yourself nearly killed, and by what?" Elizabeth near shouted, and she could see her siblings shift uncomfortably behind her. Charlie glanced around the room, trying to find anything else to look at other than her mother. Chuuya stood and slipped out, hands slipping into his pocket towards his phone.
"A ghost." She replied finally in English and heard her mother scoff.
"A ghost. Not this bullcrap again. The ghosts can't touch you; you know that!"
"Yes, they can! They can touch me! They've always been able to touch me! YOU know that!" Charlie exploded, eyes averted but her temper flaring. Her throat hurt, and she could feel it throbbing. She needed to get out of here; she didn't want to deal with her mother or the rest of her family right now, not when Rudyard had almost killed her.
Elizabeth looked offended, eyes wide and mouth open. Then she gritted her teeth, eyes flaring with anger.
"Don't talk to me like that, young lady! I am still your mother!"
"Like I give a shit what you are to me!" It had been a long time since Charlie had argued with her mother, but it felt good to say what had been weighing on her chest for so long.
Just then, Chuuya came in with a nurse, effectively cutting off the argument between Charlie and her mother.
"Miss Dickens, the doctor is confident that you can be discharged in a few moments as soon as the discharge paperwork is filled out. Do you have someone to take you home?" She asked, and Charlie glanced briefly at her mother, who looked confused at the spoken Japanese. Sometimes Charlie forgot her mother couldn't speak anything other than English.
"I'll be taking her home. We have some work to get to." Chuuya interrupted, and she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"Alright, Mr. Nakahara, if you can step right this way, we can get started on the discharge paperwork."
Within the hour, Charlie was being wheeled out in a wheelchair towards the nondescript black car that she had ridden in before. Her mother followed behind, loudly complaining and arguing and demanding Charlie come with her. She could feel Chuuya's hands gripping the handles of the wheelchair tighten before he abruptly stopped and whirled on Elizabeth.
"Could you shut up for thirty seconds?" He demanded in broken English, and Elizabeth stopped, mouth snapping shut at his tone and the look on his face.
"Your daughter is on a case that we need to get to before long. So we are leaving for the crime scene!" He stated and continued to wheel Charlie's wheelchair out of the hospital, leaving a stunned Elizabeth Dickens behind.
…
"So, where is this crime scene we are heading to?" Charlie asked as the car left the hospital. Chuuya was still fuming, so she gave him five minutes to cool off before asking her questions.
"There isn't one." He replied, looking out the window with his cheek leaning on his fist. Charlie blinked several times,
"What?"
"There isn't a crime scene. I lied so we could get out of there." He said, and she couldn't help but smile as the words registered in her mind.
"That was really kind of you, thank you." She said softly and watched as Chuuya's cheeks darkened,
"Don't mention it. Seriously, don't."
…
FairyTailWzard's OC's (these are mine! Do not steal them!):
Charlene "Charlie" Dickens: Sleep-deprived 23-year-old medical examiner works to solve homicides and perform for the police, Port Mafia, and the Armed Detective Agency. Ability: The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain; allows her to see and interact with the spirits of the dead.
Rudyard Kipling: Deceased Englishman in his 30s, unknown background. Ability: The Jungle Book; he can manifest his tattoos into real animals. He has the tattoos of a python, a Bengal tiger, and a giant bear.
Jacob Marley: He is Charlie's assistant in the morgue and during autopsies. He lives with his nephew Tim Cratchit and businessman Ebenezer Scrooge.
"Bones": Port Mafia member found dead
Katrina Van Tassel: Port Mafia member found dead
Ichabod Crane: Port Mafia member found dead. The only one not to come back as a ghost.
Diedrich Knickerbocker: Port Mafia member found dead. Ability: Storyteller-Basically whatever he reads/writes becomes a reality.
Dickens Family: Mother, father, eight children. Charlie's family.