AN: this is based on a true story (my neighbor got a cat and i was terrified it was a mouse)
/
ccrrrr scrr crr krrt krtt
"He-hello? Who's there?"
scrrr crrr scrrrtch scratch
"Who is that! Show yourself!" Asahi yanks off his headphones and jumps up from his desk, holding his textbook out in front of him as if that'll save him from whatever demon or murderer is invading his home right now. He isn't sure what time it is, lost as he was in completing his assignments, but it's late enough that his lone desk lamp casts long shadows onto the floors and walls.
"Shit," he grumbles, sitting back down where nothing appears. "It's okay, everything's okay," he says out loud, trying to reassure himself. Then the breeze from the barely cracked open window makes one of his magazines flutter and drop to the ground with a thunk, and he screams.
Clearly, the self-reassurance didn't work.
With trembling fingers, Asahi grabs for his phone, turning on the video so he can try to record whatever godforsaken sound that is and send it to his landlord later so that he can get an exterminator or exorcist or whatever to his apartment immediately. In all likelihood, it's probably just some pipes in between the thin walls that are rubbing together or something. Right? Right.
Except… With the flash now on from the video, the shadows thrown onto the walls grow long and eerie, even within the confines of his own house. He releases a deep breath to try to hold steady, but the video shakes aggressively anyway, and then completely flips upside down when he drops his phone, flinching as he hears yet another set of
scrr scrrr scrrtt scratch scratch scrtt
In a short-lived moment of bravery, Asahi lets out a (manly, warrior worthy, definitely not girly and high pitched) yell as he kicks out a foot at the wall the sound is coming from.
Then he lets out another yell as he falls to the ground, clutching at his toes while the sound continues next to his ear.
Bravery is overrated.
–
The next morning, Asahi barely manages to crack open his eyes when his phone rings. He'd stayed up far too late into the night, twitching at even the slightest sound or movement in the corner of his eyes.
"Hello?" he mumbles into the receive, voice yet scratchy with sleep.
"Asahi! How are you holding up?" Sugawara's cheerful voice comes over the line, and Asahi wants to cry in relief.
"Suga," he says, voice already trembling as tears well up in his eyes. "It's so good to hear your voice, I was so scared last night."
He can hear Sugawara's laugh crackle over the speakers and frowns. "You're such a big baby, Asahi! I'm asking about your foot, by the way. I watched the video you sent, that crack sounded pretty painful."
"What?" Asahi asks, then sits upright in bed, blushing. "Wait, that part was included in the video? I only sent that so you could hear the rat or ghost or whatever thing!"
"Ghosts aren't real, and if it's a rat you can just call an exterminator," Sugawara sighs. Even over the phone, Asahi can feel the absolutely admonishing look he's giving.
"But– but," Asahi realizes that Sugawara is yet again correct, as he always has been. Still. "But rats are scary," Asahi whispers. "What if it bites me in my sleep?" As he speaks, he gingerly pulls one foot out of the bedsheets and sets it down on the ground, checking carefully around the room to see if any mice might be hiding to nip at his ankles.
"Any mouse would take one look at your face and stay the hell away, with that scary goatee of yours," Sugawara laughs. "Asahi? Are you okay?" he asks when he hears Asahi hiss in pain.
"Ah, yeah, I'm fine," he answers, staring down at his left foot. His big toe is significantly swollen compared to yesterday and he realizes that maybe Sugawara was right. "Shit, I think I might have broken my foot."
"Oh no," Sugawara says, voice switching from teasing to mother hen mode in an instant. "Are you okay? Do you need me or Daichi to drive you to the doctor or urgent care?"
Asahi waves him off, even though he can't see him over the phone. "It's fine, I'm just exaggerating. I can probably just ice it for today," he says, even as he limps over to the fridge.
"You better not be downplaying it just to get out of worrying us!" Sugawara scolds, but lets the topic slide anyway. He knows that when it comes down to it, Asahi is perfectly capable of taking care of himself. Maybe with a few more concerns than the average person, but regardless. "Call if you need anything, okay?"
"Yes, mother," Asahi answers with a chuckle, rooting around in the freezer for an ice pack. "I promise to be safe and responsible."
"Don't call me that," Sugawara laughs. "Oh! Also," he says as an idea pops into his head. "If you were hearing the scratching against the wall, maybe ask your neighbor if they heard anything, too? Maybe they were putting up a picture frame or something like that," he says.
"Oh, that's actually… Yeah, I think I'll do that," Asahi answers before hanging up. As much as he jokes about Sugawara and Daichi being his parents, they really do feel that way sometimes.
Armed with an ice pack and a banana from the kitchen, Asahi makes his way over to his desk, frowning down at his notepads for a moment before he reaches over for his memo sheet that's decorated with bears around the edges. It'll seem the friendliest, right? He's long grown accustomed to scaring people off on the first impression.
In his neatest handwriting, he writes out a note before folding it up. After a moment of hesitation, he unfolds it and adds his phone number to the bottom, drawing an arrow pointing to it to clarify "for contact".
Hi there, neighbor! I hope all is well :) I'm your neighbor from 3B (on your left). Lately I've been hearing a good amount of scratching noises coming from the wall we share and wanted to ask if you knew anything about it. I'm kinda worried it might be a mouse or something else (like a ghost? maybe?) which would be Not Good!
Please let me know if you've been doing any wall maintenance or construction of the sort, or whether I should call an exterminator (or exorcist?)
Sincerely,
Your neighbor
xxx-xxxx ← for contact
Satisfied, he folds it back up once more and stands, only to sit back down with a wince when he puts too much weight onto his foot. "Shit," he grumbles, realizing it might be in his best interest to go to the doctor and see whether it needs a cast.
After a few more moments of hesitant debate, he decides that it's probably not worth Sugawara's lecture to stay holed up in his apartment all day, and pulls on his coat. Plus, it'll be worth it to get away from the creepy scratching, although now that he thinks about it, there hasn't been any more noise since last night.
On the way out the door, Asahi grabs the note, frowning as he double checks it again for any errors. As he passes 3A, he pauses, debating whether or not he should knock. It's still relatively early for some people, he decides and bends down to slip the note under the front door instead. That should be enough, right? Doing his best to put the thought out of his mind, he limps his way onto the elevator.
–
A few hours later, Asahi is huddled over a cup of tea as he sits in the coffee shop near his apartment and frowns down at the cast on his foot. Sugawara is really never going to let him live down the fact that he managed to break his own foot out of fear of a ghost in the wall. He's apparently broken his big toe, what with the terrible kicking aim he'd used. As a result, he'll have to limp around with a cast for at least two weeks.
As if the long hair doesn't already give people terrible impressions.
Just then, his phone chimes and he winces, sure he'll have to tell Sugawara or Daichi about the latest development in his cowardly life, only to frown as he sees that there's a message from a new number.
From Unknown Number: hiya there neighbor! this is nishinoya from 3a! i actually just got a kitty cat so im guessing thats the scratching ur hearing! if its bothering u i will do my best 2 stop it (altho he isnt very well trained yet so im not sure how much luck i will have with that T.T)
From Unknown Number: oh btw the kitten is actually gonna b gone tn so if u hear any scratching tn, its deffo a mouse or raccoon (or ghost! whooo spooky!) n u should be scared :D
From Unknown Number: n if ur rlly scared, i can keep u company! im super brave!
Asahi thinks he might cry.
He quickly takes a screenshot and sends it off to Sugawara, who responds with a bunch of laughing emojis that feel incredibly mocking. Immediately, his phone rings and Asahi sighs as he picks it up.
"I can't believe you're mocking my pain – I broke my foot because I was scared of a kitten, of all things," Asahi wails, hunkering down as he avoids the looks that are thrown at him from around the cafe.
"Oh, god, give me a second," Sugawara gasps between breaths, still rolling with laughter. "I'm sorry I just… A kitten, Asahi! You have to ask your neighbor for pictures!"
Pouting, Asahi shakes his head, "I couldn't possibly face them now. I've absolutely humiliated myself."
"Are you sure?" Sugawara asks, sobering up somewhat. "From what I could see of the note, it looks like your neighbor might be interested in… comforting you, if you're too scared."
Asahi's face flushes red as he sputters, "No way! They don't even know who I am, that's a completely baseless accusation."
"Sure, sure," Sugawara answers lightly, clearly not believing him. "Whatever you say. And make sure to stay off that foot as much as possible, okay? Maybe you can get your neighbor to help you around the house, huh?" And with that, he hangs up before Asahi can even get another word in edgewise. He's probably off to go tell Daichi about what's just happened, and further humiliate Asahi.
Why do terrible things happen to good people?
–
Back in his apartment, Asahi frowns down at his phone, typing and erasing the same string of words over and over again. When the crick in his neck is too much for him to handle, he stretches back, finally looking up at the clock.
"Shit," he murmurs out loud as he realizes he's been trying to figure out a good response to his neighbor for the past two hours. Sugawara's teasing is getting to him, and he's definitely overthinking it. With a groan, he moves to hastily type out the best response he's ultimately decided on, only to freeze when he hears something coming from the wall to his right.
scrrr scratch crrt tch scratch scrt scratch
"Fuck," he whispers. Hadn't his neighbor said that there wouldn't be any scratching tonight? With trembling hands, he gropes around beside him until his hands wrap around his crutch and he hobbles his way over to the wall. Surely he's misheard, right? The sound had terrified him so much last night that he's imagining phantom noises in his ears. That must be it.
scrr scratch scratch crr crr scratch
Or, there's really a ghost hiding in his wall. Muffling a shriek as the scratching starts up again, Asahi barely manages to keep himself from kicking out with his injured foot once more. There's only one way to find out.
Stumbling through the darkness (and really, had he spent so long laboring over one text message that the sun had set already?) he makes it out into the apartment hallway and turns to the door next to his. Steeling himself as he stares at his own face reflected in the brass 3A in front of him, he hesitantly knocks on the door.
When there's no response, he gathers up enough courage to knock a little bit harder, only for the door to swing open under his fist.
Asahi blinks, staring at what appears to be an empty studio apartment, until he hears somebody clear their throat under his chin.
"Who the hell are you?" the man asks. He's much, much shorter than Asahi. His forehead barely reaches Asahi's shoulders, and it's only thanks to his spiked up hair that he's barely brushing Asahi's chin.
"Um, hi," Asahi says slowly. "Are you Nishinoya? I'm your neighbor from 3B. My name is Asahi Azumane."
At that, the confused look on his neighbor's face clears up, only to be replaced by a frown. "Oh," Nishinoya says, voice dropping in disappointment. "I thought you were gonna be a cute girl."
"Um, sorry?" Asahi mumbles, not entirely sure what he's apologizing for.
Nishinoya's face brightens up immediately, though, as he shrugs and grins bright and wide. "Nah, that's okay! Your handwriting's real neat! And your hair's super cool!"
"Um, thank you," Asahi answers, before he suddenly remembers why he's here, standing on one leg in front of his neighbors apartment. "By the way," he says, but before he can finish his sentence, his one good leg is giving out as he puts too much weight on his crutch and he stumbles forward only to be caught by Nishinoya's surprisingly strong arms.
"Oh, sorry! You should come inside, take a seat! Did you want something to drink, some fruit?"
Waving aside his offers, Asahi manages to hobble over to the couch and sinks down, shaking his head. "I'm terribly sorry about that, I haven't gotten used to these crutches yet. I actually just wanted to ask you something very quickly," he says.
Nishinoya nods gesturing for him to go on even as he turns to the kitchen area to dig out some fruit, passing over Asahi's refusal.
"You see, I was in my apartment just now and I thought I heard some scratching sounds again, but you said that the cat wouldn't be here tonight so I wanted to confirm that it wasn't well… a ghost or something," Asahi explains, voice trailing off by the end of the sentence as Nishinoya turns back to him with a smile.
"Oh! Right, that was my bad," he says, placing a plate of fruit onto the coffee table. "My friend asked to borrow him for the night, thinking it would make him seem cuter to his girlfriend, but it turned out she's allergic, so…"
As if right on cue, Asahi hears that telltale scccrtch scratch, only this time it's followed by a tiny yowl as a baby orange tabby cat crawls from behind the bathroom door.
"Oh," Asahi breathes out. "He's precious," he coos, reaching out one finger to caress the top of the kitten's head. It's terribly soft, and Asahi just wants to scoop it into his arms. It must show on his face, because Nishinoya laughs and picks the kitten up, dropping it onto Asahi's lap with ease.
The cat mewls a little bit in annoyance at being lifted up, but is soon purring as it buries its face into Asahi's giant palms. It's so tiny it could easily sit in just one of Asahi's hand if it wanted to.
"I'm sorry if it's been bothering you," Nishinoya says sheepishly, scratching at the back of his head. "I only got him recently, so I haven't been able to get a proper scratching post for him yet."
Asahi can only shake his head, too enamoured by the cat's tiny paws to be upset. "It's okay, I've always been a bit of a scaredy cat anyway," he says with a small chuckle. "He's so cute."
Nishinoya smiles at that, leaning forward so he can poke at the cat's nose as well. "His name is Hinata. You're welcome to come over and play with him any time."
At that, Asahi looks up, eyes large and round (and almost resembling a baby kitten himself) as he asks, "Really? Can I?"
"You know," Nishinoya says slowly with a grin. "You looked so scary at the door, I thought you were going to beat me up. I didn't realize you were such a big softy, neighbor!"
Asahi blushes at that, frowning as he holds the kitten stronger. "I thought you were going to yell at me for disturbing you."
"Nah," Nishinoya shrugs. "Feel free to disturb me any time! Think of it as my way of making it up to you for stressing you out."
Asahi smiles and nods, continuing to play with the cat.
"And, uh, for resulting in your broken foot. I'm guessing that came from the bang I heard last night?"
Asahi groans at that, burying his face into the fur of the cat. There's really no recovering from a disease like cowardice.
–
Later, Sugawara complains that it simply isn't fair that Asahi has a pet cat (even though it really isn't his, it's his neighbor Nishinoya's, regardless of whether or not he spends most of his time over in Nishinoya's apartment watching Hinata jump up in the air to catch laser pointer lights) and convinces Daichi to adopt a feisty black cat which they name Kageyama.
/
AN: happy (late) halloween! kind of halloween vibes? in that it is spooky and ghosts for asahi... maybe its a stretch lol
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