this has been chilling on my ao3 account for a while and I finally realised that I have err like four chapters I could post of it so now it's on here, too.
although not all of my works have been crossposted... yet. (there is one I literally cannot post here due to LAYOUT! and symbol incompatibility and other future ideas I have with it, so check out my ao3 acc if you wanna see that dumpster fire-my ao3 handle(s) are on my profile)
this may become M eventually because of uhhhhhh reasons.
Despite the concerned looks of the real estate agent, Rin was at a point where she couldn't care less if the apartment was previously a crime scene, a brothel, or a slaughterhouse. It was dirt cheap, she was desperate, and all she thought was, Could it get any worse?
Yes/no/maybe.
The apartment wasn't horrible—apart from the fact someone had died in it just over three months ago, making it borderline unmarketable. It was tiny and dreary, like most low-end, central-Tokyo apartments, but it was enough. She just needed a place to eat and sleep during that 10-hour gap between one shift and the other.
She stood in the centre of the room, taking in the familiar scent of new tatami and the little light that slithered through the apartment window. It displayed a beautiful, grey view of the side of a skyscraper. No one was exaggerating when they said central Tokyo architecture was like a game of tetris.
With a sniff, she turned to the real estate agent—a thin, young woman with long blonde hair.
"It's perfect," Rin said, which was half-truth.
It was well within her very limited price range thanks to her very limited salary, its location was ideal—cutting commute time from two hours one-way to only twenty minutes—and it had all the necessities, if just barely. The whole death thing? She wasn't very superstitious, so she didn't care much. (But her parents probably would, and so she planned to just omit such a detail.)
SeeU, the real estate agent, blinked. Finally, she cleared her throat and asked, "Are you sure?"
Rin jutted out her chin, eyeing a patch of mold on the wallpaper above her head. "Very sure."
"Okay…" SeeU said slowly, fiddling around with her papers. "You should at least read the, uh, report on the incident here, just to make sure." Before Rin could respond, she shoved a piece of paper into her hands. "The apartment is fine, but…"
Some real estate agent , Rin thought as she took the paper from her. She scanned the details of the previous tenant's demise—male, mid-20s, committed suicide, decomposed for two weeks before someone found him—one of the typical stories that accompanied these 'unmarketable' apartments. It was usually either the latter, or death from age-related causes.
Neither really bothered her.
"As you know," SeeU continued, eyes darting around the room, "we replaced the tatami where, uh, the incident happened. So there's no need to worry about hygienic matters. But we only offer six-month or twelve-month leases, so if you change your mind, you'll have to pay a fee to break the lease."
"That's fine," she said.
SeeU grinned, despite it looking somewhat uncertain.
"Okay, well, I can give you the paperwork and you can take that to finish with your guarantor, then we can lodge your application and get started on the financial stuff… I'd say, if you finish your application today, you might be able to move in by next week?" She turned away to walk out of the room, and Rin went to follow, but hesitated when she thought she saw something move out of the corner of her eye.
When she turned to look back, though, it was just the curtain. She closed her eyes and sighed.
"Is everything okay?" SeeU asked from the door, her keys ready in hand.
Rin's eyes popped open and she swallowed. "Oh. Right. Yeah." She reached for her shoes in the entrance and slipped them on, before stepping out of the apartment and into the empty corridor.
SeeU probably thought she was strange—a 27 year old single woman wanting to buy some apartment the previous tenant offed themselves in—but she decided it didn't matter. It wasn't any new judgment to her. She'd reached peak crazy to some a while ago.
Hot Ghosts in Your Area
Rin just wished the ghost in her apartment paid his fucking rent.
Miku's jaw dropped to the table when she broke the news.
"You're moving into an apartment a guy killed himself in?" She set down her drink on the table and brushed her fringe from her eyes. "Rin, you can't be serious."
Rin just smiled at her across the table, which earned a scowl.
Miku was her friend from high school, her only friend, who had a knack for dramatics at times. They met every weekend at a cafe halfway between their homes to talk, but more often than not, other commitments would make that meeting about once every month.
She was expecting this reaction from her friend when she broke the news—she was, well, normal; had a nice apartment in Yokohama, and a fiancee, and a car, and a well-paying job.
"You're, like, practically asking to be haunted," Miku said with wide, green eyes. "You seriously couldn't try settling for somewhere cheaper, like Kawasaki? It's not that close, sure, but…"
"I tried looking," Rin answered, which was true. "I just couldn't find anywhere that was available and affordable. You know how low my wage is."
"Yeah, but…" Her eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Still. You obviously just didn't look enough."
Rin shrugged her shoulders dismissively. "Well, it's too late now. I've already paid key money and everything. I'm moving in tomorrow."
"Jesus, Rin!"
"It doesn't bother me," she insisted. "Really. I don't care. I don't believe in superstitions and all that. Even if the place was haunted, I doubt whoever was haunting it would do anything much. They're just dead."
Miku looked like she wanted to disagree, but pressed her lips together, deciding on a frown. "You say that, but…" she trailed off, reaching for Rin's hands over the table. Her engagement ring glinted under the light. "I'll leave you alone about this if you let me come over and sage your place. And if you salt, like, everything. Please."
Rin wanted to laugh, but she could tell her friend was being serious, so she opted for another smile. "Alright," she said after a moment of silence. "Just don't set off my smoke alarm. I can't afford the fines for that."
"Okay. Good. Thank you." Miku squeezed her hands hard before letting go, a grin breaking across her face. "Did you want any help with moving?"
"Actually, yeah," Rin said. "I do, if you can. It would be a big help."
"Of course! Why else would I offer?"
They discussed their plan of action for tomorrow, and she was more than relieved she didn't have to somehow transport four-and-counting suitcases across the east coast of Japan just to get to her new apartment. Miku was nice like that. A little overwhelming at times, sure, but she was nice.
As she laid in bed that night, staring at her bare room and the silhouettes of her suitcases in the corner, she wondered about how she would feel in her new home that time the next day, staring up at the mouldy ceiling instead.
"It's a shithole," Miku blurted when Rin opened the door to her apartment and lead her inside. She dumped her handful of things beside the doorway and looked back in disgust.
Rin snickered. "Oh, come on. It's not too bad."
Miku rolled her eyes, venturing further into the room, exploring the pint-sized kitchen and analysing the bathroom that felt too crowded with just one person standing in it. "God," she said with a shudder. "No wonder the guy killed himself. This place feels like a coffin."
"Well, you always joked about me being a vampire." Rin stepped over her mountain of things hogging the doorway, joining her friend standing in the centre of the tatami. She was referring to a time during high school when Miku had harped on and on in gym class about her skin being so pale she looked undead.
Miku eyed her. "I'm still speculating whether you are."
She grinned, raising her hands to mock she was stalking her prey. Her friend just scoffed.
"Ugh, I've got goosebumps," Miku said, rubbing her arms. "Are you sure it's not haunted? I'm getting the sage." She brushed past to find her bag in the hallway, hidden amongst the mess they'd dumped there.
Rin reached up to pull the string on the light, deciding the room was too dark. Once it was on, the atmosphere felt a lot less eerie. "Do you think the mold will be easy to get rid of?" she asked.
Miku unearthed a bunch of green-plant-like-somethings and a lighter from her bag, before looking over. "Hmm? Mold? I'd assume so."
She lit the 'sage' and it began to smoke, before she stalked over to the window and cracked it open. Then she got to work, waving the smouldering bunch around the room and muttering things like, "Bad energy, begone!"
Rin bit down on her lip, trying not to laugh. It was like she was in a movie, or something. She set her keys down on the kitchen counter, turning to her things. There were still a few bags and such in Miku's car they'd have to run down for later, but for now she could arrange the room a little.
After Miku finished saging and she finished unpacking the kitchen, the two decided on making their second round down to Miku's car to grab the last of the stuff.
When Rin reached for the last place she saw her keys, they were gone.
"What's wrong?" Miku asked once she saw her confused expression.
"I thought I put my keys down here," she said, squinting at the bench. Maybe she placed them elsewhere while sorting the kitchen, but couldn't remember. She felt down her pockets, before searching the floor nearby. Eventually, she found them tucked up against the bottom of one of the counters, on the floor, a good distance from where she thought she put them. "That's weird. Must've knocked them while I was unpacking."
Miku's eyebrows shot up, but whatever she was thinking, she didn't voice. "Let's go."
They opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. Rin turned to close and lock the door, and as she reached for the handle, she glanced up.
Just for a moment, before she blinked, it looked like there was someone standing in the apartment.
Miku noticed her hesitation. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Rin said quickly, a little too quickly, pulling the door shut. It slammed in her face like someone had shoved it from behind—or maybe it was just a breeze—and the sound echoed loudly down the hallway. She winced.
Her friend just frowned at her.
It was just the wind , Rin told herself as they walked down to the car. It was just the wind.
"I think you should keep the sage," Miku said while they were grabbing the last of her things.
"And walk around the apartment waving that stuff in the air, chanting for evil to leave? No way! I'll just wait until setsubun to make a fool of myself."
When Rin saw Miku's serious expression, the smile dropped off her face.
"I'm not kidding." Miku locked her car, locked it again, before checking the door just in case . "That place gives me the heebie-jeebies. It's like… the eyes have walls."
"The eyes have walls?"
"The walls have eyes."
Rin glanced over at her friend, who wasn't sharing the same sense of humour. She ran her tongue along the edge of her teeth in thought, before sighing. "Okay. I get it. I'll take the sage. I really just think it's our overactive imagination, you know. Walls can't have eyes."
Miku said nothing, keeping her gaze to the ground.
Rin looked away to fumble for her keys to unlock the door. Once she unlocked it, she leaned on the handle to push it open, but it didn't budge—as if someone was on the other side, leaning against it.
She laughed nervously, not wanting to alarm Miku, but finding it hard to ignore the dread rising in her chest. Her friend looked at her, then seemed to read the situation, her lips setting in a straight line.
"Maybe it got jammed when it slammed shut earlier," Rin thought aloud before she could harp on again about her ghost-theory.
"Let me try," Miku offered, stepping in to try the door. When she touched the handle, she flinched. "Actually, I think I'll pass."
"What?" Rin put her hand back on the handle, confused.
"Can't you feel that? It's ice-cold."
"It is?" Her hands were clammy, sure, but the handle didn't feel anything but normal to her. "I think you're just shitting me now, Miku."
Miku looked perplexed. "I don't know. Try the door again."
This time, Rin put all her weight into it. Like whatever was holding it shut had suddenly moved away, it swung open and she stumbled forward into the hallway. Miku caught her shoulder just before she face-planted the floor.
"The hell," she muttered as she regained her composure. "Thanks, Miku."
Miku gave a shrug, but she could tell she wanted to bolt out of there.
Rin peered into the apartment cautiously, as if checking whether there was really someone else in there, but it was only the two of them. Her stuff seemed fine, untouched at first glance, so she exhaled and put the remainder of her things down where she could find space.
"Are you sure you can live through a night, here?" Miku asked, setting down her armful and fiddling with her car keys. She was very much ready to high-tail it.
"Sure." Rin looked at her pile of belongings, then back to the apartment. "A little bit of wind doesn't spook me."
Miku raised an eyebrow, but she didn't seem so confident. "If you say so." She swallowed, running her fingers over the ridges of one key, before folding the keys into her hand. "I-I should go, leave you to unpacking and stuff, so, um…" Her eyes darted to the door.
"Do you want me to walk you down?"
She shook her head hard, teal hair swishing around her shoulders. "It's fine. I'll be fine." Rin walked her to the door and she paused in the doorway, looking past her shoulder into the apartment. She dropped her gaze. "Text me tomorrow, so I know you're safe?"
"Nothing's going to happen to me, Miku. I just want to know if you're okay."
Miku forced a smile. "Yeah. Don't worry about me." She took a step outside into the hallway, and Rin leaned against the doorframe, watching her. "If I don't hear from you by midday tomorrow, Rin, I'm going to call the police." She held up a finger, jabbing it at her chest, and although it sounded like she was joking, she probably wasn't.
"Noted," Rin said with a smirk. "I'll text you to let you know that I've been gutted, murdered horribly by the mold in my room."
"Don't say that," Miku exclaimed over her shoulder as she walked off. "I mean it, Rin! Poor Gumi is going to have to hold my hand when I go to the toilet tonight."
The thought of that made Rin snicker. Once her friend had disappeared into the elevator, she turned and walked back inside, closing the door behind her.
Just to be sure, she deadbolted it too.
Rin sighed, gazing over at the collection of bags she had to sort through. She didn't feel like unpacking everything she'd packed just days before, but her futon was somewhere in there, too, and she would need that to sleep later.
Unlike the strange chain of events earlier in the day, nothing else unnerving happened in the apartment. But by the time she'd settled for bed that night, she didn't blame Miku for claiming the walls to have eyes.
For some reason, it really did feel like someone was watching her.
As she drifted off to sleep, she thought to herself, Well, I hope they enjoyed the show.
At around three in the morning, that night, she woke up to footsteps roaming around the room. They were slow and muffled, sort of like someone was shuffling across the tatami.
Rin kept her eyes closed as she listened for a while, not entirely sure whether she was dreaming or not.
Dread curled in the pit of her stomach when she realised she wasn't.
The most logical thought that came to mind was that someone had broken in, somehow. Her heart thudded against her rib cage as she searched her mind for a way to handle the situation. When she came up with nothing, she opted for just listening.
It was like someone was pacing across the room, over and over, back and forth. If they were a thief—or a murderer—they weren't being very subtle. Besides, wouldn't they try… getting the job done, instead of walking around in circles?
Eventually, the footsteps moved past her head and stopped. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled and her breath caught in her throat. It was like she was being watched.
At that moment, Rin decided she would rather die putting up a fight for her life, rather than just lying there like an open invitation. She sat upright in her bed, eyes wide open, and swivelled her head around to search for the source of the footsteps.
The room was empty. She was the only one in the apartment.
Rin swallowed, putting a hand to her chest to ease her racing heartbeat. It couldn't have been a dream, could it? She was awake the whole time it was happening, for sure. Then what was it? Her imagination?
Maybe it was one of her neighbours walking around in their room, and she was just getting confused.
The footsteps sounded too close to belong to a neighbour, though.
She pushed a hand back through her hair and sighed. Well, whatever it was, it had stopped.
Rin sat for a few moments more, staring at her knees in the darkness, before crawling out of her futon to use the toilet. When she returned, she noticed the futon was oddly cold, but put it down to the apartment having little insulation against the cooler mid-autumn nights.
Nevertheless, she fell back asleep.
i will spam ao3 and ffnet with my shitty lil fics until the sites burn down to smithereens. it's 2020. watch me upload 10 fics in a week. ill do it.
also if you like to control what kind of genre fic you would like to see from me next in the future sometime maybe, there's a poll on my profile. :)