Chapter Text
It had been going on for over an hour. Sensei would have been proud of his newfound patience. Still, he had to stop his work every now and then to take deep breaths and tug his hands away from his neck. He let himself glare at the ceiling for a moment before returning to the maps and hand written notes spread out all around him on the floor. He was leaning against the raggedy old couch, flashlight in hand as he tried to make out his own handwriting. He really should work on his penmanship. Spinner came into the drafty living room and sat down on the couch, releasing a cloud of dust that had them both coughing.
“How’s work coming along?” he asked once the dust had settled. “Are you any closer to finding that doctor of yours?”
“It’s slow going, but I’m not even close to giving up. Let’s leave it at that,” Tomura muttered, tapping a pen against his chin. A particularly loud howling from upstairs had him almost snap it in two.
“I suppose that noise isn’t helping,” Spinner pointed out with an embarrassed chuckle. “What’s Dabi even doing? It sounds like an orgy going on… not that I would really know what one sounds like.”
“He’s just masturbating,” Shigaraki grumbled.
“Seriously? It doesn’t sound like it.”
“With a bunch of clones of himself that Twice made for him.”
“Ah.”
A crash, followed by a muted thud. Spinner turned his head to listen as tense silence followed.
“Do you think he died?”
“We can only hope,” Shigaraki muttered as he dug through his notes. He knew that his irritation with Dabi was rooted deeper than a noise complaint.
“Jin! I need another one!”
“’Guess not,” Spinner snorted. “Where’s Toga?”
Shigaraki sighed. He was never going to get any work done with all these interruptions. Grumbling obscenities under his breath, he began gathering his things, intent on searching out a quieter section of the old and dilapidated house they had taken for their own, starting two days previous. As he was stuffing the last of his messy notes in a cardboard box, Toga appeared in the doorway, accompanied by a fidgety Twice.
“Guys! You’re not gonna believe this!”
Shigaraki leaned his head over his shoulder and gave Spinner a tired yet pointed look.
“Whatever this is: you take care of it. That’s an order. I’m busy.”
With that he stood up, ignoring his protesting knees, and shouldered past the two in the doorway, using his box as a shield against their excitement, swinging an electric lantern behind him when Toga reached for him.
“But boss…!”
“No.”
Toga sighed as he disappeared up the creaking staircase, heading to one of the many empty rooms to hide from them all.
“The attic would be serviceable, as long as it doesn’t start raining,” he could be heard grumbling.
“Okay, what did you find?” Spinner asked, resigned to spend, what was likely to be a significant amount of wasted time, on whatever had gotten the crazy girl’s attention this time around. “And this better not have anything to do with the dead fox under the shitter. I’m not dealing with that, no matter what the boss says.”
By this point, Toga was practically vibrating.
“No, it’s so much better! We have a ghost!”
*
Lil’Vampire: testing, testing…
Lil’Vampire: come in, Double Trouble, come in
Double Trouble: hearing you loud and clear. Over and out.
Dumpster Fire: Why are we texting when we are right next to each other?
“Shh, don’t spoil the fun,” Toga hissed, glaring at Dabi from across the darkened hallway. “We are ghost hunters now. That requires a modicum of stealth, you know, silence? I even downloaded all the good apps. I can’t wait to try the spirit radio!”
“Guys, we really shouldn’t be doing this…” Spinner whispered, hands twisting in his scarf and glancing behind him every two seconds, all the while a chorus of “We are all going to die,” repeated in his head.
He was not ashamed to admit that his first instinct had been to run out the door and never set foot in the accursed house again the moment he had fully grasped Toga’s proclamation in the living room. This couldn’t possibly get any worse.
“Let’s split up and cover more ground.”
Oh wait, it could.
“We are not splitting up.”
To his surprise, it was Dabi who raised the complaint before he could get his tongue to function properly. Though grateful, he still had to tease him.
“Are you scared, fire-boy?”
“Like hell I am!” Dabi snarled in response, arms tightening around his midpoint in a subconscious display of self-soothing. “I just don’t want these idiots tearing the house down, or alerting the authorities to our presence. I, for one, would love nothing more than to see a ghost. If they were real. Which they are not.”
“Great! We are all in agreement!” Toga exclaimed, clearly having completely ignored the conversation going on around her. “I made sure everyone has the apps and the chatroom is working fine. The boss-man refused to join in on the search, but that means he’s keeping close eye on the attic where he holed himself up.”
She took out her phone and began typing.
Lil’Vampire: have you seen anything, Shiggy?
Gaymer: no. quit bothering me. what’s with that name anyway? shows the amount of respect a leader gets around here.
Lil’Vampire: sorry. is this better?
Lil’Vampire changed Gaymer’s name to King Gaymer.
King Gaymer: it will do. Now, go away!
“Good news all around!” she squealed, clapping her hands and grinning toothily. “Shiggy hasn’t seen anything yet, that means one of us will get the first spook.”
“Wait… How did you even get in your head that this place is haunted if you didn’t see anything?” Dabi asked, stance relaxing somewhat.
“Oh, I forgot about that. I went to get a snack in the kitchen and there was blood everywhere. Also, there were the words: “Leave or perish,” scraped into the floor boards. Since I didn’t do it, it must have been a ghostie.”
“Oh lord,” Spinner groaned despairingly while Dabi turned a shade paler. Twice looked torn between excited and petrified. After a quick battery check on their phones, Toga divided them to the four winds. Either by the sheer force of her delight, or subtle bullying, the men obeyed, and set out for an adventure across gloomy halls, abandoned parlors, and frigid bedrooms.
*
“This is ridiculous,” Dabi growled as he shone the flashlight down the hall. “There are no damn ghosts…”
The electricity was out in the house and the clock was nearing witching hour. The light swept over the shoji screens, all of them rotted and torn. It looked not unlike a storm had passed through the house and the previous owners had left it to rot. The beam of light shook and he tried to steady his hand. Dabi swallowed thickly as he stared at what was definitely not claw marks on the screen to his right.
“The - um, - the previous owners must have had a dog…”
A sudden vibration in his pocket made him jump. Swearing and clutching his furiously beating heart he pulled out his phone.
“No ghosts… there are no ghosts…” he whispered to himself, trying to ignore his surrounding and focus all his attention on the message he had received.
King Gaymer: have you pissed yourself yet?
The floor creaked behind him. Dabi spun around, flashlight clutched in one sweaty hand and phone in the other. The light danced across the rotten walls and stained floor mats. That’s not blood on the floor… it’s just paint. With trembling fingers, he punched in a message.
Dumpster Fire: Bold of you to say, sitting pretty in the attic, o brave leader.
King Gaymer: unlike some, I’m not afraid of ghosts
Dumpster Fire: ghosts aren’t real
King Gaymer: are you sure?
Dumpster Fire: you telling me you believe in that bullshit?
King Gaymer: yes
Dumpster Fire: but you’re not scared
King Gaymer: nope
Dumpster Fire: you’re lying
When several seconds passed and he got no reply, Dabi began moving down the hall, listening intently to the sound of his own footsteps. He really wanted to be back in his room with his orgy, but Twice had refused to make him any more clones unless he joined in on the ghost hunt. Dabi sometimes hated his friends; this was one of those times.
Dumpster Fire: how could you possibly believe in ghosts and not be scared of them?
Dumpster Fire: oi? answer me mophead!
King Gaymer: i’m busy
King Gaymer: they are just people. And they’re dead. your time is better spent fearing the living
King Gaymer: a skull just rolled across the floor. weird
Dabi gave a hysterical little laugh.
“Bullshit,” he grumbled and shoved the phone back in his pocket, having decided that talking to Shigaraki wasn’t helping his nerves one bit; and why were there curse seals on the door panel leading to the doll-room?
The door panel was wrenched open and in the darkness two glowing eyes found his…
*
Double Trouble: There’s some kind of thick fog. Going to investigate.
Double Trouble: Oh hell no I just heard someone whistle. Mission abort! Mission abort!
Lil’Vampire: I believe in you, Jin-kun.
Double Trouble: I wish I had the same confidence. Can I have a peck for good luck?
Toga leaned over to Twice where they were crouched in the narrow hallway and pressed a quick kiss on his masked cheek. When she had sent Dabi and Spinner off on their own, she and Twice had secretly stuck together. She didn’t want to leave Jin all alone if the ghost turned out to be mean.
So far, they hadn’t encountered anything too bad, disregarding the awful ambience of the place. Everything was rotted in a way it hadn’t been in the light of day. There was a crawling feeling around every corner; like when you expect to find someone there, only to find the space abandoned. She didn’t know why, but it made her sad.
Feeling strengthened by the kiss, Twice rushed ahead and into the room that was producing the thick, odorous fog. It smelled like bleach and ketones, not unlike the retirement home his grandmother had spent the last four years of her life in. With one hand covering his nose he activated the ghost radio with the other, listening to the distorted signal as his heart pounded away. The room was empty save for a manky old bed, a vanity, and an open closet containing a mofuku, a kimono commonly worn when the mourning the dead. It looked unused and was in far better shape than the rest of the room. The wall panels depicted mountains draped in mist, with something like dark shrubs in the distance.
The squealing of the radio seemed obscenely loud in the small room. Twice listened but could discern no words.
Lil’Vampire: what’s in there? what do you see?
Twice rose from his crouch and headed over to the vanity, coughing silently behind his hand. The cloying smell was close to overpowering.
Double Trouble: I’m in front of a vanity. The mirror is broken. Too dirty to see my reflection. There’s a comb… with three broken teeth. Why do they call them teeth? Wouldn’t spikes be less… ominous? Sounds like the comb will bite you.
Lil’Vampire: That would make combing my hair much more interesting.
Double Trouble: Lol.
Double Trouble: There’s a vase with dead lilies. Think they were white once. A fan. The type you wave in your face, not the electric one. A porcelain dog statue, I think.
Lil’Vampire: Is it cute?
Double Trouble: Its head is missing. There’s something in it. there’s…
Lil’Vampire: What?
Lil’Vampire: Jin-kun? You okay?!
Double Trouble: The dark shapes on the wall… I think…
Double Trouble: Never mind
Double Trouble: I turned the dog statue over and a small scroll fell out. It reads… um… it’s… it says “Why did you leave me like this?” I’m coming back
Double Trouble: Shit
Lil’Vampire: Jin-kun?
Double Trouble: They dark shapes on the walls. They’re not shrubs, they’re people. I think they’re getting closer. I’m out.
Twice backed out of the room, never taking his eyes of the distant shapes on the walls. The branches had turned into arms and hands. The spindly limbs appeared to be beckoning to him, urging him to come closer, reaching out… The moment he was past the threshold he turned and rushed over to Toga who enveloped him in a fierce hug.
“My brave, brave boy,” she cooed. His heart felt lighter with her praise.
The moment they parted a blood chilling scream was heard from across the expanse of the house.
*
“What are those idiots doing?” Shigaraki grumbled, taking the time to glare at the closed attic door. “Can’t they do anything quietly?”
Above him, on the ceiling, swirled a black stringy mass; like black hair caught in a slithering vortex. It was quiet enough, barring the odd tortured groaning, that he had been able to ignore it for the past few hours. A black tendril shot out across the room, slicing a fine cut across Shigaraki’s cheek and ruffling his papers. His eyes narrowed and he put down his pen, balancing it on his knee. He turned to the vortex.
“Do not disturb my work.”
The black mass slowed its writhing, almost impishly, like a scolded child, and gave a quiet moan of defeat.
*
Spinner changed Dumpster Fire’s name to Chicken Little
Chicken Little changed Spinner’s name to Asshat
Chicken Little changed Chicken Little’s name to Roaring Vengeance
Asshat: As in RV?
Asshat changed Roaring Vengeance’s name to Recreational Vehicle
Asshat: I’m sure pretty everyone I know and their grandmother must have had a ride on you by now
Asshat changed Asshat’s name to Godzilla
Recreational Vehicle: I’m gonna turn your scrotum into a small pouch and fill it with thumbtacks
Godzilla: I think you mean a large backpack
Double Trouble: Did we miss something?
Lil’Vampire: Dabi, was that you screaming?
Recreational Vehicle: No! maybe
Recreational Vehicle: This asshole lizard popped out at me from a room covered in curse seals! Bastard was hiding in there and jumped out at me!
Godzilla: Don’t call me lizard! I was not hiding! I was… looking for ghosts! You screamed like a girl
Lil’Vampire: And what’s wrong with screaming like a girl?
Double Trouble: Nothing, Toga-chan. Nothing at all!
Godzilla: it’s loud. I think my ears are bleeding
Recreational Vehicle changed Godzilla’s name to Godsissy
Godsissy: that’s the best you can come up with?
Recreational Vehicle changed Recreational Vehicle’s name to RV
RV: you’re one to speak. It’s too damn long
Godsissy: that’s what you’re complaining about? Not me calling you a major slut?
RV: I’m proud of my sluttytude. At least I know how to have fun unlike a certain virgin I know. Or two. Three? Four?
Godsissy changed Godsissy’s name to Gobsilly
Gobsilly: it’s a compromise until I think of something better. I don’t want to anger any devout spirits lurking nearby.
RV: that’s probably too late. I’ll mourn for you. RIP
Gobsilly: da fuck dude
RV: I can already hear him speaking to me from the beyond
King Gaymer: are you done screaming downstairs?
Double Trouble: Boss! You won’t believe what I found in the smelly room!
King Gaymer: I’m sure I won’t. please, leave me hanging in suspense
Lil’Vampire: Have you been haunted yet?
King Gaymer: a little
Gobsilly: what does “a little” mean? Are you oaky?
King Gaymer: who’s this? This is the dumbest name I’ve ever seen
Gobsilly: it’s Spinner
King Gaymer: *sigh*
King Gaymer changed Gobsilly’s name to Gaymer II
Gaymer II: thank you, boss. *silent tears of relief and gratitude streaming down face*
Gaymer II: but back to how you were a little haunted. What does that mean?
King Gaymer: it’s behaving now
Double Trouble: what is behaving now?
King Gaymer went offline
RV: son offa bitch
Double Trouble: boss is busy
RV: boss is a cunt
King Gaymer: boss has ways of knowing what you type even when offline
RV: well shit
*
“Do you have a name? Do you remember it?”
He listened to the attic. It was silent. Not a moan, not a groan was heard; the vortex was still, as if holding its breath.
Shigaraki gave a small chuckle, then his face twisted into a frown. Still facing his papers and maps, he addressed it.
“If you insist on hanging around up here, do me a favour and find out where my spare pencil went.”
Seconds later it came rolling out from under a stack of papers.
“Thanks.”
*
“Okay. This is what we know,” Toga began, phone in hand and countenance comically grave.
They were sat underneath a table in the downstairs dining room, huddled together in an effort to stay warm in the now freezing house. The temperature had plummeted half an hour ago and Dabi had begrudgingly agreed to act as a human heater.
“The house was built in the late Meiji era by a wealthy family named Kurosawa. The husband, Takeshi, was a wealthy scholar and his wife, Ingrid, wrote poetry. Takashi’s mother lived with them, and according to rumours, died in the house from neglect, though nothing was ever proven. The wife had a small business of her own where she would sell haiku to a local florist, who would attach the poems to bouquets. Sounds really cute until you read some of the poems. Here’s one:
“They are quiet now
The waters swept them away
All sorrows are gone”
“Why is that so bad?” Spinner asked, clutching his scarf with his claws and tugging it tighter around his shoulders. “It’s just a vaguely emo poem. Fire-crotch could have written that.”
When Dabi didn’t immediately reply with a returning insult, the other three turned towards him. Dabi sitting pressed against the table leg, like he was trying to hide inside its wooden structure, staring stubbornly at his shoes while his clenched hand held a tremor.
“I don’t like this,” Toga said silently to herself. “Not the ghost. It was me. My fault.”
“Toga-chan?”
Jin touched her shoulder and she jumped into action.
“Guys? How about we call it a night?” she exclaimed, startling them all. “Ghost hunting can wait for the daytime, for the light hours! I know! Let’s scrape up what coins we have left and get a cheap motel room. All four of us in one bed, one big cuddle-snuggle!”
“Hey, crazy girl? Don’t leave me fucking hanging here. What did that family do? The one that lived here,” Dabi asked, eyes not quite finding traction on hers, but he was trying. “Tell me: why should we be scared?”
Toga pondered him for a moment before deciding to play along. He didn’t want to admit defeat, and who was she to send him retreating? A grin spread across her face as she resumed her retelling of the past events.
“The Kurosawa’s had six children in all, though the first was stillborn. The latter five all died in strange, or just sad circumstances. None of them got older than eight. The first child to make it past, you know, being dead-on-arrival, died due to drowning at seven months old. Ingrid had been giving her a bath and stepped away for a moment to receive a guest. She returned a minute or two later and baby was dead. The second kid got to age six before he was rushed to the hospital due to respiratory failure. The cause of death was deemed as poisoning. The likely culprit:”
Toga raised her finger to savour the tension.
“A common garden plant, the lily-of-the-valley. An accident. Child number three was only 16 months when he tumbled out of a window. By now the local authorities were at least a little bit on edge. Not that they did anything. Rich people.”
She rolled her eyes to the ceiling, half waiting to see if something or someone would rain down ire upon her. When nothing happened, she continued.
“Child four, and I’ll spare you the details, was killed by a wild dog that had found its way into the family’s backyard. And the final baby, and I mean that, a baby, like sixteen days old, died of smoke inhalation. Apparently, an incense stick fell onto the floor and ARGH… These fucking people killed their children! That’s six children killed in “accidents”! I just… sometimes I just hate humans.”
As she slumped down into a human pile of exhaustion and anger, Twice scooped her up into his lap and cooed little tuneless melodies into her hair. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and burrowed her face into his neck. Splinters. They were both splintered souls, but as long as they had each other, they would be okay. She wished, she prayed… that destiny would be less than unkind. Maybe even, neutral.
“Just let me be like this, with him, for a while,” she murmured into his neck, for anyone to hear.
The faces surrounding her told her that she was heard. Dabi frowned and turned away, indecipherable and unheard words spilling past his lips as he hugged himself. Spinner sniffled and tried to wipe his eyes unseen. It made her smile. He’s such a tender soul. Laid bare. Unlike Dabi. Stupid Dabi. The little boy hiding from the fire. From the beatings. Always expecting to be punished. Poor Dabi.
“What happened to the husband and wife?” Spinner asked.
“That’s another weird thing,” Toga replied, getting back into story telling mode. “The wife disappeared on day. One of her bags was gone, along with some clothes and jewellery, but no train ticket had been purchased. There was no trace of where she’d gone. The police investigation came up empty. They suspected the husband but he had an alibi, a one-month business trip to Hokaido. It was thought that she might have killed herself. Some say the body is hidden somewhere in this house.”
“Of course they do,” Spinner sighed and dropped his head to his knees.
*
King Gaymer: you have been quiet for awhile
King Gaymer: you still alive?
King Gaymer: should I come down?
King Gaymer: answer me you fucks!!!!!!!
King Gaymer: did it hurt you?
King Gaymer: please answer
King Gaymer: answer
King Gaymer: answer
King Gaymer: answer……geuyugfesuygaewyuqwfyuqc
King Gaymer: it’s left my ceiling so I don’t know what to do now
King Gaymer: answer?
To be continued. . .