Behold! A new drabble/OS, featuring the Twin Towers!
This fic is based on the drama
Kasuka na Kanojo, a drama that starred former member Maeda Atsuko as one of the main cast.
Enjoy!
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The Ghost Roomate
A couple years ago, Akihabara residents were spooked by the shocking news about an incident that has occurred in one of the rooms of an apartment building. The casualty was one person dead...murdered in fact.
The details behind the murder weren't clear to the public.
Following the incident, people who live in that apartment building or pass by it have claimed that the ghost of the murdered person now haunts the very same room the crime took place.
Few residents have moved into this said haunted room, but never stayed for a long time right after making an encounter with the ghost itself.
No one would expect anyone to stay and live in that haunted room for good...until one certain resident moved in.
Akimoto Sayaka had moved into the aforementioned apartment due to receiving a new job and she needed a place that was closer to her workplace. Before arriving, she had no idea of the rumored ghost everyone in this neighborhood talks about. It was only during her first day at work she heard from her co-workers about the ghost that was said to be haunting the very apartment room she's going to live in.
Naturally after it was revealed that Sayaka will be living in the haunted room, her co-workers showed concern, wondering if she's going to be okay sleeping and living in such a place. Sayaka however showed no worry.
Unlike the previous residents that came to live in that room, Sayaka had no care at all about the ghost everyone keeps talking about. She only claims that it's just a hallucination or an illusion.
Little did she not know of what awaits her on that first night...
On her first night sleeping in her new home, Sayaka went to bed a bit early so she could get up in time for work the next day. For the first hour or two since she started sleeping, it was quiet.
However, that peaceful atmosphere was going to get ruined in just a few moments…
Why?
Of course it’s because of the rumored ghost everyone in her neighborhood was talking about was said to be haunting the very room Sayaka stays in.
While she slept, a strange small cloud of mist seemed to phase through the door that leads to the spare room that's present in her home, and slowly crept its way towards Sayaka, ready to unleash its terror upon this new victim.
But before it got any closer, Sayaka’s voice is heard.
"If you're trying to scare me you can forget it," she spoke without opening her eyes for a few seconds.
Now revealing to be partly awake, Sayaka opened her eyes and sat up in her bed and looked as if she's looking at something even though there's no one else in the room. The strange mist from before had instantly disappeared as soon as it heard Sayaka spoke a second ago.
Instead of panicking like how everyone else does when they are in a haunted room, Sayaka was calm. More rather, she looked annoyed.
"Listen here, from now on I will be living here. If you wish to use this room I won't mind. However, I expect you not to interfere with my personal life," she strongly advised, “That is all. Now if you’ll excuse me…”
Hoping that the ghost she sensed has heard her warning, Sayaka laid back down and went back to sleep.
Just when she closed her eyes and seemed to be asleep again, the mysterious mist from before reappeared again beside her bed and crept towards her and took form as a human wearing white robes and has bangs covering its eyes.
It was ready to reach out and cause who knows what kind of terror into Sayaka...
But right before it could do its worst, Sayaka's eyes snapped open and flipped the tables on the ghost.
In a second, the ghost was grabbed by Sayaka by the wrist. Then Sayaka used a quick aikido move to throw the ghost across the room and it landed right in front of the door to the spare room.
“Didn’t I told you not to bother me?” Sayaka reminded, now wide awake.
Startled now that its target can see, hear and even touch it, the ghost phased through the door and retreated back into the room where it came from. However it won’t be able to hide from Sayaka for long, now that it disturbed her sleep.
Eyeing the door to the spare room, Sayaka was not going to let this continue.
"It's useless," she stated, "You've made the worst choice trying to bother me."
Since words won’t be enough to keep the ghost from bothering her sleep, Sayaka took the next initiative and got up from bed, went to the kitchen in order to take out her secret weapon, salt.
Surprisingly, she actually had brought a large bag of salt beforehand, just in case she would encounter a ghost during her stay.
With a dish filled with salt in her hand, Sayaka pulled the door to the spare room open and found the ghost right there smack in the middle of the room.
The instant it saw the salt Sayaka’s holding, the ghost backed away until its back hit the wall, aware that salt is a ghost’s worst kind of torture that can affect them.
“No use trying to run,” said Sayaka as she stepped towards the frightened ghost.
She then placed the bowl of salt right in front of the ghost. Fortunately ghosts are not able to touch it much less than go near it. The ghost felt the salt work its trick as it felt some burning, making it lean back against the wall to get as far away as it can from the bowl.
Seeing the salt work its purpose, Sayaka stated, “Now you stay in this room, and let me sleep in my room. Got it?”
With that, she got up, turned around and made her way to the door.
However despite it being in a sticky bind with the salt in front of it, the ghost was not going to give up that easily. With all its might, the ghost made a daring attempt and flung itself shooting past the bowl of salt and was about to reach Sayaka once more.
But at the last moment Sayaka's sixth sense kicked in and she quickly spun around and brandished a rosary beads from her pocket. Holding the beads out in front of her created an invisible force that sent the ghost flying back until its back hit the wall.
Now Sayaka has lost her patience much too long.
"That does it. I gave you a proper warning. But now it looks like I'm going to have to teach you a lesson," she said in a firm tone of voice that made the ghost scared of what is to come.
With that, it was time for Sayaka to pull out the big guns.
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Minutes later Sayaka had gone to and brought more salt from the kitchen. She made a ring using bowls of salt around the ghost using bowls of salt, trapping the ghost in the corner.
After placing the last bowl in place, Sayaka looked straight at the ghost, who is now trembling with fear and keeping itself away from touching the salt surrounding it.
"Now stay like this until you've learned your lesson," she scolded, "I'm going back to bed."
The ghost opened its mouth, wanting to plead to Sayaka to remove the salt but was ignored and had the door closed in her face.
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The next morning, after nearly a difficult time trying to sleep thanks to the annoying ghost, Sayaka was still able to wake up on time to walk to work.
"Good morning Sayaka!"
Her neighbor Takamina had arrived, knowing that Sayaka will take the same route she takes into go to work in order to talk to her.
"Morning," Sayaka said in return.
As the two walked to work together, Takamina had something she's been wanting to ask her new neighbor.
"Say, how did last night go?" she asked in curiosity, "Did you…see the ghost last night?"
"You bet I did," Sayaka answered without hesitation, "Sure was annoying. Kept me awake the whole night."
"Eh? Seriously?" Takamina responded with bewilderment, "You're not joking are you?"
“Of course I am,” said Sayaka.
Whether she was being sarcastic or not, Takamina was unsure.
---The Next Night---
Since the previous night, the ghost was still kept trapped in her ring of salt. Every time it tried to move further, the salt would stop it from doing so.
In the main room, Sayaka was sleeping in her bed, or trying to. Her sleep was disturbed by the voice of the ghost she kept hearing muttering to itself. Since it was stuck in her place, it grew bored that it started talking random things to itself just to pass the time, or it could be to annoy Sayaka to the point that she’ll finally move the salt away.
"Ouch! This salt is hot…! Mou… Hm? What's that? Something's moving there...Ah! It's a cockroach! Mou, I don't like bugs...! Stay away! Stay away!"
Hearing the ghost continuously talking and whining like a baby disturbed Sayaka that she began to toss and turn in bed, trying to block the sound but has no luck in getting the sleep she needs.
"Excuse me…?"
Sayaka finally opened her eyes and stared at the door to the other room.
"I'm sorry for what I did…" the ghost said in a voice filled with remorse.
In the other room, the ghost sat trapped in her circle and had gone through a long tortuous night of being stuck in one spot.
At last the door slid open and Sayaka stood at the doorway, staring at the ghost with an unconvinced expression.
"What do you want?"
"Um..." the ghost shyly spoke but wasn’t sure what to say.
Impatient, Sayaka wanted to go back to sleep and began to close the door.
“W-Wait a minute-!” the ghost called out so Sayaka can stop.
Before the ghost continued, it first reached up and fixed its hair so that its bangs would be out of the way of its eyes. And for the first time since she encountered the ghost, Sayaka realized something she hadn’t noticed before.
“
It’s a girl ghost?”
Indeed, at first appearance, she thought the ghost was a boy.
Now that she appears more normal, the ghost wanted to speak properly. "Um...can you please take away the salt now?" she eagerly asked, “It’s actually really hot.”
At her request, Sayaka was reluctant to do what she asked. For all she knows, despite its serene behavior now, this ghost might try and bother her again once she removes the salt.
Seconds later, as if she read Sayaka’s mind, the ghost desperately spoke, "I promise not to scare you again."
To make absolutely sure, Sayaka came and crouched in front of the ghost and gave her a good stare.
She then spoke, "You won't give me trouble anymore?"
At once, the ghost willingly nodded.
Finally as an act of mercy, Sayaka reached out and took two bowls of salt away so to allow an opening in the circle for the ghost to come out of.
As Sayaka was putting the salt back into its original container, the ghost came close to her, wanting to start a conversation.
"Ano…"
"What?" Sayaka said without looking.
"…Last night…when I tried to scare you…you were able to touch me right?”
"So?"
"And...you can really see and hear me?" the ghost asked.
"Loud and clearly...much to my regret," Sayaka sullenly answered.
Intrigued, the ghost was bewildered. "Sugoi…How are you able to do that? Do you have a supernatural power? Are you an omnyouji?"
"I don't know," Sayaka replied without giving it a thought, "I've always been able to see ghosts since I was young. Now go back to your space will you?"
"Ah don’t be upset,” the ghost insisted, “Hey I know! Why don’t we sit down and have a nice talk? See it's been a long time since the last person came to live here. I haven't got a chance to talk to a living being since then. I mean the last person left this room sooner than I thought before I got a chance to speak to them."
"Obviously because you scared them out," Sayaka muttered, “It’s your own fault.”
"Well duh! Because I'm a ghost right? Ain't scaring people what ghosts do in their lifetime?" the ghost reminded with a pleasant grin.
Sayaka scoffed, "What life? You're already dead."
Hearing this, the ghost gasped in surprise and pointed at Sayaka. "That was a joke! You used me for a joke! Oh that's nice!" she praised.
This ghost seems to enjoy humor, despite her being the subject of the joke. Nevertheless it meant that she was finally getting into a conversation with a human being for the first time in years.
Sayaka just shook her head in exasperation.
That brought another question for the ghost to ask. She spoke, "But then, how do you know about using salt and the rosary beads to ward me off? You must have some kind of supernatural powers."
"…My grandfather taught me," Sayaka corrected, "...He used to be a professional in exterminating ghosts. I know everything about getting rid of ghosts from him."
The ghost showed a touched expression. "Ah how amazing. And now you're following your grandfather's footsteps as well huh? So nice of you to carry on the family business," she commented.
But Sayaka chose to break the ghost's expectation that she seemed pleasant about and introduce her to reality.
"Get serious. I don't intend to do this sort of thing as a business like he did," she stated, "I only use what he did because I need something to get rid of annoying ghosts like you, that's all."
The ghost was of course surprised when Sayaka said this. “Eh? You’re not? But surely your grandfather must’ve expected you’d take over the job.”
"Absolutely not," Sayaka firmly confirmed, "Who'd want to have a career like that for the rest of their life?"
The ghost then brought up a new subject. “Ah your name is Sayaka by the way yes?” she mentioned.
Sayaka paused to look at the ghost. "How did you know my name?" she questioned.
"Oh! I heard it from the people that were here yesterday.”
"Of course..." Sayaka sighed, "So you were eavesdropping since then huh?"
The ghost finally remembered she has yet to introduce herself to the new apartment occupant.
"Oh by the way, my name is Sae."
"Sae? Just Sae?" Sayaka inquired, though a majority of her was uninterested to make a friendly relationship with this annoying ghost.
Sae gave a hesitant chuckle. "Well you see…I kinda don't remember my last name. Just my first," she said regretfully, "But anyway, seeing as how we're going to be roommates as long as I'm stuck in here and with you living here, let's get along well ne?"
She bowed her head to show manners but Sayaka just stared at her.
Getting along with a bothersome ghost in her room is the last thing Sayaka wanted in her life. Having enough of the ghost taking more her precious sleep time, Sayaka decided to draw the line between them for good.
"Okay, listen carefully…even though we’re sharing the same space, I don’t want you anywhere in my life. Don’t interfere with my life, don’t even speak to me about my life. Just keep to your own space,” she firmly instructed.
Sae showed a look of offence when Sayaka strictly laid the gap between them.
“Eh? Tsundere much? You’re talking to me as if I’m going to be a hindrance."
But she has no idea how experienced Sayaka is about encountering ghosts.
She unpleasantly spoke, "Believe me, I've experienced more than enough of you ghosts trying to be 'friendly'. For years since I've discovered I can see ghosts, I've had nothing but trouble. Once they know I can see and hear them, many follow me around and expect me to converse with them even though I can't always talk to them unless I want people around me to think I'm a weirdo that talks to herself all the time. They expect me to pity them because they’re dead and have no one to talk to. They always say their opinions whenever I’m doing something and I constantly hear them. They don't mind their own business. Heck I've even had to deal with many ghosts that are girls that confessed to me just because they think I'm manly!"
Here she gave a shudder at the horrible memories of some examples of that event.
She returned her attention to the ghost. Sae looked at Sayaka and now noticed she does have the manly features that would make girls fall for her, despite the fact that Sayaka is a girl too.
"I can sorta see why they think so..." she commented.
Sayaka returned to her point, “What I'm saying is, I have my reasons to say you can't bother me. If you can’t accept my conditions, then just leave this place why don’t you?”
She was eagerly hoping with all the conditions she made, the ghost would leave as she suggested.
However Sae pouted and stuck out her lip.
“So cold…” she mumbled, “Besides, even if you tell me to leave, I'm unable to. I've been stuck in this room for more than 10 years. It's like I've been tied to it.”
"Huh?"
"I've tried to get out of this room many times but I just can’t seem to get out no matter how hard I try.”
Not believing her words to be true, Sayaka is left to use the last option. She reached into her pants pocket in order to get something out, a special tool one uses in ghost exterminating.
She began calmly, "Fine. If you can't go away willingly…then I'm going to have to use force.”
A puzzled Sae said, "Eh? What do you mean by-?"
In a second, Sayaka turned and quickly slapped a slip of paper with a seal written on it onto Sae’s forehead, to the ghost's startle. This slip of paper is a talisman commonly used by omnyouji of the past and present to extinguish ghosts forcefully. And since she learned how to make talismans, Sayaka never goes anywhere without carrying one with her.
"Eh? Huh? Nani? Nani?" a confused Sae said, trying to glance up to see the now glowing talisman on her brow.
Now that the talisman is used, Sayaka felt all her troubles are over. "There. Now pass on peacefully, will you?" she insisted.
She turned and left the ghost to vanish while she heads back to bed and can sleep the rest of her night in peace…
...Or so she thought.
"Ano, Sayaka-san? Is it supposed to do that?" she heard Sae ask.
By Sae's question, Sayaka turned around and got a disappointing result.
“Eh?!”
Much to Sayaka's dismay, not only did the ghost not disappear after the talisman was stuck to her, but there was some kind of ghostly kind of holographic image shown over the talisman with the word '
Error' blinking in bold letters.
"Uso! 'Error’?" Sayaka said in a ‘seriously?’ tone, "Are you kidding me?"
This sort of thing never happened before whenever she uses talismans on ghosts. Why did something like this happen on this ghost?
Having her statement proved correct, Sae spoke, “You see? This is what I told you just now. I can’t seem to go to Heaven no matter what I do.”
Greatly disappointed, Sayaka let out a heavy sigh, "Majisuka? You've got to be kidding me..."
The night just keep getting worse and worse for Sayaka. If the usual ghost exterminating tactic won’t work to get rid of this ghost, then what will? Or what if she’ll never be rid of this annoying ghost?
But Sayaka didn’t want to think too much of these things. She has had enough on her mind for one night.
"Ah forget it...Right now I need to sleep."
She climbed into bed and switched the lights off and wanted to forget this night’s discussion.
But at the last moment, Sae approached the bed so she can say something.
With an anxious voice, she spoke, "Hey, maybe tomorrow we can chat more. Ooh! I just remembered something I forgot to tell you! See it just so happens that I’m a--!”
Suddenly she was interrupted when Sayaka had her hand shot out from under the blanket with the rosary beads held in front of Sae.
At once the beads did their charm and Sae was forced to disappear from Sayaka's sight.
Just when she thought it's silent once more, she heard Sae's voice from the other room, where she retreated back to.
"Good night~~" she spoke before she became silent for the rest of the night.
All Sayaka did was give a groan.
She is starting to think that moving to this apartment might be the worst mistake she had ever made...
To be continued...?
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There you have it!
Little bit of things about this fic, like I mentioned in the beginning, this is based on the drama
Kasuka na Kanojo. After watching that drama, I thought it would be fun to see how Sayaka and Sae having a conversation between a tsundere character and genki character like the main characters in the original drama.
I made Sayaka in this fic is similar to her character Nimi Miho, who she played in
Asadora Satsujin Jiken, an NHK drama she starred in.
Oh and additionally, the moment where the talisman fails and shows 'Error' was based on a similar moment from
Housou Hakubutsukan Kikiippatsu, a sequel to Asadora Satsujin Jiken that included Matsui Rena.
Wanna see more of what happens between Sayaka and Sae the ghost? Well I have plans to maybe write a complete fic of this story, but it's still a work in progress and I'm a bit unsure of some parts here and there. Whether I should continue this plot or not is up to you fellow readers.
Feel free to drop some suggestions that I can include in the fic, if I plan to continue.
In the meantime, back to the drawing board for me so I can try to get more new ideas to pop into my head!