Chapter Text
The landlord had explained it. The whole building’s foundation was crumbling and the apartment complex was a ticking time bomb and was being demolished, so now Reigen was out of a place to live. It was very sudden, but the city was cracking down on dangerous buildings due to several recent incidents of injury, so Reigen sighed and got to looking. He spent a week between clients surfing for a viable place to live, but nothing seemed to be in his area or price range, even with the returned deposit from his previous landlord. Then, finally, he found a little place on a Wednesday. That next Thursday he went and toured it and the Landlord there seemed pleasant enough to work with. The rent was incredibly cheap and there was even an in unit washer and dryer which is something his other apartment lacked. All in all, he was beyond happy so he signed the lease and moved in that next week on a Tuesday.
“Where should I put these boxes?” Serizawa asked, toeing the door open. Reigen followed inside behind him and dropped the box he was carrying in the kitchen with a grunt, peeling it open to unpack.
“In front of the hallway door is fine.” Reigen replied, pulling out the plates and unwrapping the newspaper from them.
“Uh... Okay, which one though?” Serizawa asked and Reigen paused, making a face of confusion.
“There’s only one hallway door, Serizawa.” Reigen stated and then, after some light murmuring, Serizawa said, “Sorry, there’s two.” Reigen put down the plate he was holding and walked to where Serizawa was standing, holding the box between two doors.
“Does it really matter which door?” He asked and Reigen just stood there confused.
“I swear there was only one door when I toured here.” He said, rubbing his neck as he stared at the door he didn’t recognize. Serizawa shrugged.
“Maybe you missed it?”He asked and set the box down and this time Reigen shrugged, still staring.
“Maybe...” He said softly, but he knew he hadn’t. How could he have? This door didn’t even belong in this house. The rest of the apartment was a dark cream color with off white trim, giving the house a warm and new and clean feel. This door didn’t match that in any manner. It was, at one time, white but now was a molding grey, with etchings of paint falling off. The trim was dark, exposed wood that would splinter if you ran your hand over it. The handle was an old, antique brass knob with a simple design and old style lock. Doors like this were generally seen only on American farm houses, not typically on a newer aged Japanese apartment in the middle of a city.
There was... something else about it that bothered him and he couldn’t exactly put his finger on it. A feeling like there was a body behind the door, standing against it, waiting for it to open. He could see under the door slightly and saw no feet or shadow or anything that would indicate a body, but there was still that gnawing feeling as his eyes raked the peeling paint that someone was there. An image of a person with their hand raised over the aged brass knob hit him and he became anxious. The feeling coiled in his gut and made him sweat, so he finally turned to Serizawa and said, “Do you, per chance, feel anything unusual with it?” Serizawa looked concerned but then chuckled.
“You’re the first person I’ve ever seen complain about free storage.” He teased, but Reigen’s concerned face made him sigh and say, “No, I don’t feel anything at all from it. Aside from it looking a little out of place, it feels like a normal door to me.” Reigen nodded and let the tension go from his body.
“Okay then, lets finish bringing this stuff inside.” Reigen said and Serizawa nodded.
“Yeah, you can call your landlord and talk to her about it later.” Serizawa concluded and Reigen nodded, getting back to work. By the time they finished, the door was mostly forgotten and Reigen was beyond ready for bed. He was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to eat and head to bed. A shower could wait until the morning.
“Thanks for all your help, Serizawa. I’d still be working to bring things inside if it wasn’t for you!”Reigen said, smiling. Serizawa blushed.
“It was nothing, you needed help so I was happy to.” He said modestly, “Plus, it was a fun experience.” Reigen snorted.
“Oh, heavy lifting is your idea of fun?” Reigen teased.
“Well, it was something I’ve never done before and I got to spend it with you, which is always nice.” Serizawa explained and this time Reigen blushed.
“Quite the charmer...” He said softly then lightly slapped the table. “Are you hungry? How about I call in an order of takeout and we can see if we hooked up the tv right.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
The tv did work, but it took a few tries to find the right channel and get it connected to the WiFi that Reigen had installed the day he signed the contract. They put on some show Reigen chose, but that Serizawa thought was campy, and waited for their food. Before the episode was even over, Reigen was asleep, head lolling onto Serizawa’s shoulder.When Serizawa realized this, he stiffened and then relaxed, face flushed slightly and he couldn’t stop his mind from thinking about just how warm Reigen felt, laying against him like this. After a moment, Serizawa couldn’t resist and as carefully as he could, he maneuvered his arm to fall around Reigen’s shoulder, pulling him closer without waking him. It felt domestic and soft and made him smile. Then the door bell rang and he jumped, pulling away and waking Reigen in the process as he quite nearly pushed the shorter man off the couch. He snorted and blinked.
“whatsit?” He asked, confused. Serizawa stood and pointed at the door.
“Food’s here! You ready to eat?” He asked, too loudly and quickly, but Reigen didn’t seem to notice and nodded.
“Yeah...” He agreed, attempting to stifle a yawn. Serizawa smiled nervously and walked to the door to collect the food, by the time he came back, Reigen was asleep again. The man was passed out in a strange position, back bent over the arm of the couch with his head back over it, snoring softly. The awkward position looked almost painful, but Serizawa couldn’t help himself. He smiled at the sight and went into the kitchen to prep the table for the two of them to eat. After a few minutes he called out to Reigen.
“Reigen, wake up. Food’s ready.” He said, but no response came. He waited a second then walked out of the kitchen into the living room and furrowed his brow. Reigen wasn’t there anymore.
“Reigen?” He called out, but still no response from anyone except the tv. He sighed and walked into the hall and down it, thinking Reigen went to the bathroom or to bed, but to his shock, he hadn’t. Serizawa stopped in his trackers when he saw Reigen standing in front of the old door with his hand up, hovering open palmed over the shining brass knob. Serizawa’s heart began to race.
“Reigen?” He asked, and the man didn’t even blink. Serizawa swallowed and took a cautious step forward. “Hey, Reigen are you okay?” He asked, shakily reaching out and just before Serizawa’s fingers made contact Reigen blinked and sucked in a breath, looking up at him confused.
“Serizawa? You okay?” Reigen asked confused, and then looked around. “What was I doing?” He said, sounding lost. Serizawa let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding.
“You were sleep walking and I caught up to you here.” He said, trying to sound confident in that statement. Reigen nodded and his eyes flicked to the door and back.
“I guess I was tired...” He said, rubbing his neck, a habit he did when he was nervous. Serizawa nodded.
“Yeah, lets eat then get you to bed. No more tv.” He said and Reigen nodded. He was oddly quiet as he followed Serizawa down the hall back to the kitchen.
They ate in near silence, which was unusual. Generally, Reigen was talking about something, whether it be the business or a new show, or money, or ghosts, or whatever and Serizawa would chime in or talk about school and it was all easy. Tonight seemed different. Reigen kept glancing to the door of the kitchen between bites and Serizawa wasn’t entirely sure how to broach any subject when Reigen wasn’t listening. Finally, /Serizawa put his chopsticks down and asked, “Reigen, are you alright?” Reigen’s eyes snapped up and him and he stared for a minute before nodding.
“Of course, why do you ask?” he said and Serizawa glanced out the kitchen then back to Reigen.
“You’ve been looking out the kitchen most of the meal and haven’t said anything this whole time.” He explained. “You seem very... Distracted...” Reigen stared at him then stared at the table, tapping his fingers lightly against the tabletop.
“Truthfully, I’m a little freaked out... I’ve never sleep walked before and the first time i do, i wake up in front of this creepy old door in my new apartment that I already don’t feel comfortable with. So, to tell the truth, I’m just a little shaken.” Reigen explained. Serizawa nodded and Reigen continued without missing a beat.
“And, I know you said that you didn’t sense anything from it so I don’t have a reason to feel insecure, but I do. It wasn’t there when I toured it before, I swear it wasn’t! And even though you don't sense anything, I do. I... I feel someone behind it and even now, all the way in here, it feels like someone is in the hallway so I keep having to check back because I just know something is down there. I... I can’t explain it, but I promise I’m not crazy.” He explained, words growing frantic.
“Would you like me to check for you?” Serizawa asked and Reigen’s head snapped to attention, eyes full of fear. Something told Reigen in his gut that he shouldn’t open that door, a crawling feverish feeling said if he opened it then whatever was behind it would be let out.
“I... I don’t know Serizawa. That seems like a bad idea.” He said but Serizawa stood anyways.
“Well, if something is behind it then i can exorcise it and it wont be a problem anymore. If not, then you have extra storage.” Serizawa said and began walking down the hall, Reigen immediately stood up way too fast, knocking back his chair and chased after Serizawa.
“Wait! What if something is there that you can’t defeat?” He asked, grabbing Serizawa’s arm.
“Then’ ill call Shige and have him help. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He said, smiling warmly and comfortingly. Reigen found himself relaxing into the smile, unsure why his paranoia had spiked so severely in the first place. His closest friends were the world’s most powerful psychics. If something happened, they could fix it. He was safe. So, when Serizawa grabbed the door knob and turned it, Reigen didn’t stop him even though every nerve in his body screamed at him to stop this.
The door opened to reveal an old set of stairs that matched the trim of the door going up and around to where the attic would be. Reigen crossed his arms and hugged himself slightly as his eyes roamed over the torn and ugly, outdated wall paper that struggled to stay on the walls. Nothing about this stair case matched the apartment, but it also didn’t infringe on the design of the building either. The landlord had explained that the attic was above them and the only thing beside him was the stairway to the attic. Maybe she had meant this? He wasn’t sure.
“See? Nothing there but the attic stairs.” Serizawa confirmed and Reigen sighed.
“Okay, I guess that’s what it is.” Reigen said, more to convince himself than anyone else. Serizawa noticed this and said, “Maybe the landlord had it covered with wallpaper or something to keep people out of the attic, but then she opened it up when you rented.”
“I mean, that’s plausible i guess.” Reigen said. He glanced back up into the stairwell, shivering as a slight breeze blew over his body. Something didn’t sit right as he stared into the crumbling, aged, grey wood of the stairs until Serizawa closed the door. It was dark outside, but the stairwell looked as though mid morning light was streaming in through a window and rolling down the stairs. He looked down to the bottom of the door and the soft, gentle light didn’t seem to reach his hall way. It unsettled him all over again but his body softened when he heard Serizawa speak again.
“Maybe you should get some rest Reigen, you’ve had a long day.” Serizawa suggested and Reigen sighed in relief at the comfort he felt from hearing his friend. “Don’t worry, I’ll clean up dinner so you can get some sleep and then I’ll head home.”
“No, you can stay here tonight if you want. The couch is a pull out...”Reigen said and Serizawa could tell he didn’t want to be alone so he smiled.
“Thank you Reigen. Now, go get some rest and I’ll put dinner away.” Serizawa said and led Reigen down the hallway to his room. Reigen walked straight to the bed and flopped down on it with a long sigh, deflating his body almost completely. Serizawa couldn’t resist a smile and a blush as he watched Reigen looking relaxed. Serizawa leaned against the door frame and tried not to stare. Reigen rolled over with a smile to face Serizawa.
“Thanks for your help, Seri, you’re such a good guy.” Reigen said, pulling the covers over his body. Serizawa, flushed more, thankful for the dim light hiding his face.
“It’s nothing... You were upset so...”He said, voice failing him, but Reigen chuckled anyways.
“So? You didn’t have to. You’re way to nice for me.” He said and yawned.
“Alright, I’ll let you go to sleep then.” Serizawa said, “Good night Reigen.”
“Night Serizawa. The blankets and pillows are behind the couch...” Reigen replied, already falling asleep. Serizawa smiled and closed the door. He walked back into the kitchen, cleaned up, turned off the tv, and went to sleep.
Chapter 1 End