Afterlife
Part One - Moving Day
Summary: After a long search you finally land eyes on the perfect property for your roommates' and yourself to rent. It's perfect! Large rooms, enough space for all of you, Ghost of the previous owner's son... Perfect!
Warnings: Cursing, Mentions of Death/Dead people. Adult humor but nothing too in depth.
Taglist (let me know if you would like to be added): @browneyedgirl22 @lukerycyja-reblogs
Previous Part: Prologue
Scrolling through ads listing rentals you sighed heavily.
"Toshi why is it so hard to find a decent place to rent anymore?"
Your lavender hair, sleep deprived friend lifted his shoulders in a short shrug. "Finding a place isn't the hard thing. It's finding a good area worth the money."
He wrapped up his spare capture scarf into the gym bag he was packing, another breath of air leaving your body. "I'm so sick of this. Why can't your boyfriend help again? He's the one moving with us."
A single snort was your response as he zipped the bag closed. "Kaminari couldn't find himself out of a wet paper bag, you really want to put him in charge of finding a rental?"
You eyed him while grumbling a No, letting the phone fall against your chest. "Yet you're dating the guy, going on a three month mission with him to boot."
He shrugged once more with a sly smirk on his lips. "You know, you should find someone too. Maybe you'd be less bitchy."
Narrowing your eyes at him to indicate he was on thin ice he showed both palms in surrender. "Sorry, sorry."
Picking the phone back up, you continued your search once again. A brand new listing caught your attention, a pretty decently sized house with a similar monthly price. There would be plenty of room for Hitoshi, his boyfriend Denki Kaminari, and yourself.
"Hey, look at this one Toshi."
You sat up shoving the phone in front of his face before his long fingers curled around the device and brought it to a more acceptable level. "House looks a bit familiar for some reason, Three bedroom, two bath... wow there's actually a nice sized yard." He scrolled a bit more to list the 'About the landlord' section that gave a brief history.
"Landlord information says it's an older couple renting out their family home." He tossed the device back into your lap before moving his gym bag from the table. "Where is it?"
You read off the address and he scratched the back of his neck in though. "That's a great neighborhood, why don't you give them a call and we can try to look today before I leave?" You nodded and clicked the link to call the landlord. The line beeped only a few short times before a click was heard.
"Mitsuki Bakugo speaking."
You smiled, glad a person actually answered after all the scams and wrong numbers listed on the site. "Hello! I was interested in viewing your home for rent?"
The conversation was brief, she indicated her schedule was open for the afternoon and you set up a time to view the home. She took down your name and contact information right before the call disconnected. Hitoshi had put away his bag with the other moving boxes littering the living space of your current apartment.
"You planning to invite Kami to see the place with us?" He shook his head in response, "No, he needs to pack and if him calling me or texting me every five minutes isn't enough of a distraction this would be. I think he also has a joint patrol with Red Riot during that time so he'll lay his head wherever I tell him to."
You let out a brief huff of air in amusement, pulling the sleeves of your shirt over your chilled hands. "It's two thirty now and we have two hours before the viewing, should we grab some food before we meet her?"
Hitoshi nodded while rubbing his eye, a short yawn stretching out his jaw. "Or do you need a nap first?" You teased, poking his side to watch him jump.
"Fuck off, I've been doing a lot of late night mission for Eraserhead. Ever since I took over as his lead sidekick he's been working me harder and harder."
"Kinky."
The glare he shot you could bore holes in your head if he wanted to, raising your hands in surrender before gathering up the essentials to leave.
The car ride to the restaurant you frequented was a short one, only being a few blocks from your current building. The hostess flashed a bright smile and welcomed us in by name before leading us to the usual table in the rear away from... people.
You chatted a bit here and there while waiting on your order, reminiscing back on how your friendship started.
After graduating UA you had applied to Eraserhead's agency. He had been your teacher for the first two years of your schooling, however before your third term began he had retired officially to focus on his agency. His retiring speech had cited the death of one of his previous students as one of the main reasons he just couldn't bring himself to teach any longer, however had decided to omit the name.
He had accepted your application and placed you underneath his lead side kick Hitoshi Shinso, who happened to be three years your senior. Learning quickly he shared similar outlooks on life and people, a bond was made. He was considerate at your hesitancy when it came to physical touch and had even told off a few who were too pushy at one of the few hero galas you chose to attend.
After only a year of being on the hero scene had been enough for you. The toll your body took from the backlashes of your quirk placed you in the hospital enough times that calling it quits was the only option. On top of retiring from hero life, the same month your parents had been hit by a drunk driver and unfortunately did not survive.
Histoshi had offered his spare bedroom to you when you had no where to go and had been living there ever since. The lease was now up as of a few months ago, hence your search for a new place.
"Day dreaming again?" His voice cut through your memories like a knife, yanking you back to present times. Your chopsticks snatched a dumpling as you shrugged. "Just, reminiscing how we got here."
"We drove here."
Eyes rolling so hard they threatened to fall out of your head you chewed a bit overly aggressive as your eyes narrowed.
"I was talking about how crazy it is we've been friends for so long."
He nodded while slurping up a noodle. "Yeah, dealing with you has been a trip. Heroing and living together, now we're possibly moving into a house together."
"You make it sound like we're the couple. I think Kami will be a bit upset that you're after me."
You winked as his nose crinkled in disgust, "You are a beautiful, intelligent woman and I love you the most, but please understand when I say... Ew."
Dropping some cash on the table for your waitress, you both made your way back to Toshi's car in the parking lot. It was getting close to the meeting time and the GPS indicated you were at least thirty minutes away from the house, cutting it close.
Taking the passenger seat you placed the phone on your thigh with the directions open so you could lead him as the designated navigator. You placed your chin in the palm of your hand as you leaned towards the window, watching the scenery whip by of busy walkways and large business buildings. The view took a turn as you left the urban life to a quiet neighborhood filled with trees, green grass and children running around parks.
"Certainly pretty here." You mumbled looking around. Catching the gaze of a long man peeking out from behind a tree, you gulped and averted your eyes rather quickly. After a moment peering back to see the man had seemingly vanished as if to thin air. Releasing the breath you held and leaning back against the window.
"Turn left at the next stop sign." The electronic voice sounded from your phone's speaker and the driver followed just before the voice sounded again.
"Arrived."
The car pulled up to the curb, your attention being drawn to the building beside you. A brick wall surrounded the home, a small gate was the only opening to a walkway leading up to the home you had only seen in pictures. The brick home sat higher in the sky than you thought, realizing it was quite the large home for what they were asking monthly.
"Are you sure we need all this space? This looks a hell of a lot bigger than the photos. Think this is another scam? The rent isn't mathing here."
Turning your attention to your companion he shrugged and started to exit the car. With a deep inhale your fingers popped the door handle and swung the door out to follow. A door opened on the car before Hitoshi's, a long leg sliding out of the car first with a long heel attached. A taller blonde woman stepped out of the car, her head swiveling before landing on the both of you.
The woman was gorgeous, unruly blonde hair cascaded down to her sharp shoulders, sunglasses sitting on her perfectly shaped face. Her heels that matched her fashionable outfit clacked against the concrete as she stepped before you while sliding her sunglasses up to reveal piercing crimson eyes.
Holding out a perfectly manicured hand her smile lit up her face even more. "Hello there, I'm Mitsuki. We spoke on the phone?"
Your eyes flashed to Histoshi's for the briefest of moments before he gave a barely noticeable nod that satiated your reluctance.
"I'm sorry uh..."
Hitoshi quickly slid in and placed his hand in Mitsuki's to shake firmly.
"Hello, I am Hitoshi Shinso and I apologize she is not one for touch. Quirk interference."
Mistuki's face dropped into shame as she shook Hitsoshi's "I am so sorry dear please forgive me."
You nodded with a small smile and introduced yourself with a small bow. She turned her attention to the home and opened the gate for you all to file into the yard.
"Please let me show you the house, it's quite cute if I say so myself!"
She began speaking a mile a minute, pointing out little things about the home here and there. We could tell from all the details she provided this had been her long time home. "We purchased this home back when I first married my husband. A few years here alone and then we had..."
Her voice trailed off as her hand pressed against the door frame to a bedroom, thumb trailing back and forth over the closest notch a few inches taller than herself.
"Anyway, let's continue." She listed off more facts about the home, monthly rent amount, when and how she expected it to be paid. She provided her contact information besides the number we already had should anything come up for repair or issues with the payment.
"Well, that's just about everything." She finally waived her hand at the end of the tour. The home itself was beautiful, bedrooms big enough that your friends would have their own space and we could even have a guest space should anyone need it. The kitchen was huge and had an island in the middle that you could totally see yourself drinking coffee or tea in the morning while tuning out the world.
"What do you two think? I think it's a wonderful home for a young couple such as yourself." You froze at her words, turning to the woman who had nothing but a genuine smile on her full lips. "Oh uh, Hitsoshi and I are just close friends. It would actually be his boyfriend, himself and I living here."
Her eyes widened with a gasp as she placed her hands together, "Oh dear I'm so sorry I assumed." She tapped the top of her head with her fist lightly, "Silly me."
I nodded indicating it was a non issue, "Would you mind, giving us just a few minutes to discuss?"
She smiled and nodded, disappearing upstairs into one of the darker rooms.
"What do you think?" You elbowed Hitoshi in the side, he startled a bit almost as if he had been asleep on his feet. "It's a nice house, great price and neighborhood is quiet compared to the city. I can see myself getting some real sleep here."
"You have zero standards besides where you can set your bed do you?" He shrugged as per his normal move once again, "You should be well aware of this by now."
After your short deliberation, you called out, "Mrs. Bakugo?"
Her head poked out of the room she had been in before making her way back down the stairs. "Oh sweetheart just Mitsuki. No need to be formal."
"We would like to take the house if you'd let us."
Her hands clasped together with a loud snap in the empty space. "I'm so glad! We've just been sitting on this house for so long deciding what to do with it and I can't wait to see how you decorate it!"
Required paperwork signed, deposit and first month's rent in hand, she dropped the keys into your open palm. She insisted to call her if there were any issues and as she gathered up the paperwork into a folder she hugged it to her chest and shook Hitoshi's hand once more while offering you a short nod of the head.
At the door she gave a short glance back and you swore you saw a flash of sadness cross her features before the door closed behind her with a snap. You tested the weight of the keys in your hand a moment before turning to your roommate.
"Well, should we start moving or wait for tomorrow?"
He titled his head for a moment in thought, "Better get started now or you'll be bitching to me that you had to move everything alone when Denki and I leave tomorrow."
A wide grin crossed your features. "Damn right."
It only took a few hours and a couple trips with vehicles to move everything from your old apartment to the new house. Hitoshi had called up Kaminari to let him know the new address, who in turn let him know that he had gotten someone to cover his patrol route so he would be able to come help move the heavier stuff.
Kaminari pulled up in a bright yellow sports car a few minutes later, the large pink decals on the front making it resemble the cartoon creature nickname his friends tended to use. His first reaction was to mention how the house looked quite familiar to him as well, before running off to "claim his room." Both he and his boyfriend then found themselves in argument over which room they would be sharing.
Hitoshi wanted the room on the far right as it was the darkest of them all, however Denki complained the room "Creeped him out" until finally with a huff his sleep deprived boyfriend gave up and accepted the room across the hall. You however were just fine with taking the dark room being quite the night owl.
Your blade easily slipped through the tape holding the box labeled 'kitchen' closed. Placing the pots and pans away in their new homes you decided to leave a few out for the dinner you planned to make soon.
The three of you sat on the floor with plate in lap, random lamps illuminating the space while you found yourself laughing to Kaminari's retelling of a capture gone wrong from the day before.
The both of them finished their food and thanked you for cooking. Due to their early departure scheduled for the next day they bid their good nights and you assured them you were fine with unpacking as much as you could later. Retreating to their room on the left side of the hall you were left alone in the sea of boxes that were yet to be unpacked.
You finished up washing your dish and placed it in the strainer before taking stock of the boxes still nearby that could be put away. A yawn broke through however since all three of you had stayed up as long as you could into the wee hours of the morning, catching up however you decided the boxes to could wait until the next day.
Grabbing a glass of water you made your way up the stairs to the door on the right side of the hall to your new bedroom. Stopping at the frame to turn on the light your eyes dragged up and down quickly in remembrance this was the door Mitsuki had paused at when speaking. Indented in the wood were several notches that lined from the floor to the ceiling periodically, stopping at the height just a bit above your own.
Height Notches? Did the Bakugo's have a child?
You raised your hand to touch the tallest mark with the tips of your fingers, whoever this measured was pretty gifted in height. With a hum of curiosity you finally flipped on the light and closed the door behind you. One of the first things that had been done were the beds since sleep was always Toshi's top priority, knowing no one wanted to sleep on the floor as well.
Taking a quick swig of water and placing the glass on the table beside your bed, you climb inside the covers and wiggled down until they enveloped you in a warm embrace. The warmth was short lived when a breath of cold air ran down the length of your spine, shivers racking your body as you shot upward to glance around with wide eyes.
Chewing on your bottom lip you looked around while praying it was your imagination. Knowing your quirk was hardly wrong however you sighed and laid down slowly while keeping watching for any sign of movements. After nothing showed itself for some time the relaxation seeped into your tired joints and you finally fell asleep with one final thought.
This house isn't haunted... is it?
The next few days flew by pretty quickly. You had said goodbye to Hitoshi and Kaminari the next morning as they left packed down with all their luggage. Box after box was emptied and the contents put away until only a few remained. They were clearly marked as either Toshi or Kami's stuff so you made the choice to shove the boxes into the guest room until they returned as not to dig through their stuff. They would be just fine there until the duo returned.
Your phone trilled from it's spot on the counter, the name "Inspector" flashing over the screen. Taking the call you were informed a cold case had crossed his desk and he could use some help tracking down the perpetrator with your "Special skills."
The skills he alluded to was your quirk Ghost. This gave you the basic abilities of an apparition, phasing through walls, items phasing through your body, invisibility... to communicate and interact with the dead.
Draw backs? No distinction between the living and the dead without specifically touching them first. Hence the innate dislike of physical contact or interaction in general. Since you never know wither the person you're speaking with is dead or alive you tend to... not.
This was the reason when you met Mitsuki for the first time you had looked to Hitsohi for quick confirmation that she was in fact a living breathing person that could be seen. Though you were sure no one was playing tricks it was always better to be safe than sorry.
Especially when the biggest drawback was learning what happens when you touch the dead for the first time. More times than not as soon as your fingers connected with any part of the person's body you would be thrown into their last few moments in life, forced to relive their death in a vision so real it was as if you lived it yourself. After a few accidental field trips, the fear of touching anyone slowly crept in. Though it did not happen every time for some reason, but it did happen more often than not.
The main reason you had decided to "hang the cape" of hero work as it were was the final drawback, the sickness. Overusing the quirk, interacting with the dead via touch, manipulation or speech would cause dreaded stomach aches that left you down for hours and sometimes days. Continued exposure led to vomiting, extreme dizziness from the switch between the planes of living and dead.
So at the ripe old age of 20 you decided enough was enough and retired officially from hero work. Though you still retained your license should you need it, freelance work helped pay the bills from time to time as a contractor with the police department for special cases. Paying surprisingly well when you were contracted for mostly simple things, Who killed you? Where did you bury millions? Settling disputes of wills by speaking with the dearly departed.
"No problem Inspector Tsukauchi, I'll be in shortly." Thumbing the end button you slipped the phone into your pocket when once again the shiver ran down your spine. Peering around you found no indication of any sprit even if you had been sensing the presence for days now.
Was it a residual from a spirit no longer on this plane? Did they recently cross over or abandon this haunt?
Retreating to your bedroom to fish the costume case from the back of the closet in order to change quickly and meet the inspector at the station. Now clad head to toe in the simple dark body forming material that allowed you to phase between worlds easily you were ready to greet this new case. You placed the mask around your eyes that concealed your identity for privacy means while grabbing the keys to your modest little car.
Hopefully this case will take your mind off the possible haunting of your new home.
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Well this is the first part of this multipart fic. I was going to make it longer but I feel like this was a lot thrown into the first part. Let me know if you guys don't mind the parts being longer? Next part to come in the next day or two :) Please let me know in the comments what you think so far.
