Chapter Text
Pulling you from your sleep, cold hands snaked around your waist from behind, sending a cold shiver up the length of your spine. If you hadn’t known better, in your sleep-fogged state, you likely would have assumed death itself had come to whisk you off this mortal coil in that very moment. Squinting in the darkness of the room, you judged by the pale glint of moonlight filtering through the curtains in your bedroom that it was still late into the night.
Try as you might to enjoy a fully solitary night of sleep, that wish had become next to impossible lately due to the recent addition of a new house guest, who was now cozying himself up to your backside in your single-sized bed.
“If you’re gonna sneak in here every night, you could at least stay above the covers, I think a corpse might be war-”, your sentence was cut off by another shiver as you felt his already firm hold on your waist tighten, which earned a small giddy chuckle from the all-too-comfortable special-grade curse.
Despite your demands for the curse to sleep on the couch, Mahito always found himself crawling into your bed in the dead of night, and you were often too exhausted to put up with his pathetic whining if you tried to kick him out.
To your annoyance, this strange routine had become something of a nightly ritual between the two of you. During your past few weeks as haphazard roommates, Mahito had not attempted anything further than this sleeping situation, which only one of you seemed to be gaining any enjoyment from.
Each night, you would stir from your sleep to find him snuggled up to you in bed, as if he was using your body as his very own personal human-shaped heat source. You often wondered if he even felt the cold, or if his presence in your bed was just a product of him wanting to bother you.
Among many of the things that you’d come to learn about Mahito, one of the most obvious details was that he had little regard for personal space. Well, yours, at least. After all, he was a cursed spirit, and a newly formed one at that.
While physically, he often maintained the form of a seemingly somewhat human-looking adult, mentally speaking, Mahito was a different story. Simply put, he was immature, greedy, impulsive, and had little regard for the wants of others, including yours.
You could practically feel the blue-grey haired nuisance grinning behind you as he snuggled closer against your back, the only barrier between your bodies being the thin night clothes clinging to your form. From the way the ridges of his stitched chest and abdomen caught on your clothing, he must have been shirtless.
He hardly wore clothes around the house as it was, let alone during the night. Admitting defeat, you let out a quiet sigh into the darkness, which Mahito seemed to take as an invitation to press more of his body into yours with a satisfied hum. Feeling his cold breath cascade across your bare neck caused another wave of goosebumps to blossom along your skin, drawing out another involuntary shiver along with it. Looks like you were in for another long night.
Even now, you were still at a bit of a loss for how your interesting “relationship” had formed with the curse. Roughly two weeks had passed since the patchwork special-grade had decided to make you his new favourite human to pester, and since then, he’d been as close to you as your own shadow.
While Mahito had previously spent his short amount of time on earth in the presence of a few other mortals in his eagerness to learn about humanity, none of his past toys were as fascinating as you. Unlike the others, who would shudder under his icy-cold touches, but turn to see nothing there, you could see him. You were already so much more fun for him, just based on that fact alone.
At first, your contact with the curse had been in passing, fleeting moments which were so subtle, most hadn't even registered in your field of awareness. These short glimpses had led you to believe that perhaps he was just an alternative person with odd body modifications, and that he must have a similar daily route to yours. However, as your run-ins with the odd-looking man during your commuting became more frequent, and seemingly less random, you could no longer shake the growing feeling that something was…off.
Your suspicions were confirmed during one of these commutes on your return home from work. Entering the packed subway car, you moved to hold one of the standing handles, when your eye was caught by a flash of steel blue hair in your periphery. Claiming a seat directly in front of you, was the same individual you’d been catching those brief sightings of during the past few weeks. Odd, but sheerly coincidental… right?
To keep yourself occupied from staring, you focused your attention on your phone, though you couldn’t help yourself from occasionally glancing upward to sneak a subtle look at the man. Especially in the financial district, the man's appearance made him stand out like a sore thumb, and it made you wonder why the other passengers didn't seem to be paying him any mind.
One of these passing looks was your downfall, however. Being closer to him than you’d ever been before in these past weeks, upon stealing another glance, you could see his eyes were heterochromatic - an almost jarring, unnatural contrast of deep blue and pale silver - and they were focused right on you. Shit.
Looking at him in closer quarters like this had you wondering why someone would choose body modifications like the ones that littered his pale body. Was the stitched pattern on his skin a tattoo, you wondered. Quickly darting your attention back to your phone, you cursed yourself under your breath as you heard an almost sickly sing-song voice beckon your attention.
“Hey, what’s the next stop?”, he asked, and before you could think to stop yourself, you replied. “Hibiya, I think”.
It seemed that your quick exchange had caught the attention of an older woman seated next to the man, who looked at you with a puzzled expression before setting her bag directly onto his lap. Your eyes widened as you witnessed the rude gesture taking place; didn’t she realize a person was sitting there…?
Feeling your face grow cold, your eyes flitted toward the blue-haired man, curious to see if he would react to the sudden material invasion on his lap; but he only grinned back at you. The special-grade curse could practically see the cogs turning in the cute little human’s head as he watched her expression change from a look of casual curiosity, to full blown silent panic.
For days now he’d been curiously skulking around in the background of your life, popping in and out of your usual commute as he studied your boring daily routines and habits with an alien fascination.
And today, he was finally able to confirm his greatest suspicion: you could see him. Even better than that, he knew that you knew it too.
With a playful grin still plastered across his face, he laced his pale fingers together before deftly shoving the bag off his lap, sending it tumbling to the floor at your feet. Letting out an irritated huff, the lady picked the bag up and hugged it to her chest, likely assuming a shake of the train to be the culprit in knocking it to the floor, and seemingly unaware of the presence seated next to her.
Finally processing what you’d just witnessed in front of you, a couple conclusions sprung to your mind, of which the second was most important. The first, was that clearly this entity didn’t seem to be visible to the other people on the subway, though he didn’t look like any sort of ghost or spirit, at least in the traditional sense.
The second conclusion, was that you were definitely being followed by him, calling in to question whether your past run-ins had ever been a matter of coincidence. In an attempt to act normal in light of your discovery, you focused your attention back to your phone, mindlessly scrolling and clicking through various apps to give the impression that all was well while you silently spiraled into panic.
Was this.. thing, whatever it was, stalking you? Was it a curse? No… curses didn’t look like that, right? You’d seen a few before in your life, but none you’d encountered ever looked so… human. Pulling you from your thoughts, the intercom came on to indicate the next stop: Hibiya. He’d asked about this stop a few minutes earlier, so there was still a shred of remaining hope he might leave soon.
Feeling the low vibration of the train coasting to its designated stop, you glanced up from your phone to see the stranger still seated and unmoving as a handful of other passengers quietly filed out of the train. Taking notice, the entity smirked, lifting a pale stitched hand to offer a cheerful wave.
Before you had much time to think, as if compelled by sheer automation, you stood and quickly pivoted on your heel, hopping out right as the metal train doors were closing. Looking back for only a moment, you saw the irritated sneer on the entities' face as he realized you’d bested him, at least for now.
It was ok though, he enjoyed the thrill of the chase, and you were the most interesting prey he’d encountered so far.
Despite Hibiya not being your stop, the station thankfully wasn’t particularly far from your apartment, and with the Tokyo weather still teetering on the edge of the spring season, you could comfortably manage the rest of the trip on foot. Walking up the subway stairs to the street level, you felt the pit in your stomach seem to settle as you melted in the bustling crowd, sticking to the main streets while you took in the sights of the city on your walk.
It was early into the evening by the time you arrived at your apartment, which lay nestled between a small convenience store and an old industrial building that had sat abandoned for an unknown number of years. Ascending the stairs to your second floor apartment, you felt an odd twinge in the pit in your gut that made the hairs on your neck stand on end.
Before reaching for your house key, you quickly turned and looked out to the surroundings below. In the gradually dying evening light, you could have sworn you saw a flash of pale silvery blue locks ducking behind a wall across the street, but in your ignorance, you chalked it up to residual paranoia from your earlier run-in that day.
Unlocking your apartment, you slipped into the entryway before closing the door, checking twice to ensure it was locked. While small, the space you rented served you well, and the salary from your job left you with enough to comfortably get by.
Falling into your usual routine, you selected a movie and re-heated some leftovers before settling in for the night on your couch. Waking to the sound of the film credits rolling, you couldn’t particularly recall when you’d drifted off, but you took it as a sign to call it a night.
Setting your alarm for the morning of work ahead, you slipped into bed, but not before cracking open your bedroom window. With the weather slowly warming as the spring season waned, these nights lately were comfortable enough to sleep this way, and with your apartment being on the second floor, this nightly action had become somewhat of an automated one lately. You hadn’t really pictured this simple act being one to change the trajectory of your life.
Breathing in the crisp air as it spilled into your dark room, you settled into your bed, with sleep quickly taking hold. Unbeknownst to you, in the dead of night, a certain silvery-haired curse had decided he’d grown tired of waiting.
And how kind of you, to leave the window open like this, just for him!
Taking your innocuous choice as a sweet invitation addressed straight to him, he manipulated his form until he decidedly settled on taking the shape of a small cat. During one of your outings, he had watched curiously from a distance as you’d taken interest in a cat keychain while in a shop, so he figured you might take a liking to him in this form.
Slipping his lithe, agile body in through the crack of your open window, his curious two-toned eyes immediately fell to your still, sleeping form. Padding across your floor, he got to his hind legs and put his paws on the bed, watching you with a burning curiosity. As a curse, he wasn’t quite sure what exactly sleep was good for, nor why humans seemed to require it, it seemed even in all their literature he'd read, there was no consensus on its exact purpose.
But in this vulnerable state, you were especially fascinating to him. Even if he didn’t need it himself, he could play pretend just fine, and promptly curled up at the foot of your bed to bide his time, happy to finally set his plans in motion.
Startling from the blare of your morning alarm, the noise caused the cat-shaped curse to jolt as well. With widening eyes, he watched you slowly stir to life and sit up before your slowly opening eyes eventually met his. Whatever remnants of sleep remained, immediately rushed from your body as your eyes fell to the small mass staring back at you.
Reflexively, you scooted backwards on the bed with a yelp as you tried to process what you were seeing curled at the foot of your bed.
Ok… so a cat had slipped in, you gathered.
With the number of strays roaming around in the Tokyo prefecture, you supposed that it was bound to happen eventually, especially when lately you’d been keeping the window open.
Carefully, you reached a hand out, and the cat responded with a gentle nudge, causing you to recoil as you felt how frigid it was beneath your touch. If it wasn’t currently moving, you’d have assumed it was dead. Part of you figured it must have been cold from being out all night, perhaps.
Upon closer inspection in the dim morning light, you began to realize more details than just the cold bristle of its fur. This thing was, for lack of a better word, sort of… blue. You’d heard of cats that were specifically bred to have a blue-tinted coat, but this one was just off looking.
Had someone taken a white cat and dyed its coat as some kind of cruel prank…?
Remembering the shrill cry of your alarm, you were yanked from your thoughts upon realizing you needed to be getting ready for work. You’d deal with this situation later, for now, you seemed to have a new house mate. You’d heard about the cat distribution system, and it appeared today was the day it came to grant you a friend, albeit a bit of an odd-looking one.
Before shuffling out the door, you set out a bowl of water for the new creature in your home and uttered an apology that you’d bring back some food for it before locking the door behind you. Going through the practiced motions of your daily commute, you settled into your routine with ease as you arrived at work. Part of you hoped there’d be some change in your life to make things more interesting, and little did you know, that wish would be coming sooner than later.
Cradling the bag of cat food to your chest as you walked up the stairs, you noticed the little creature staring at you from your front window. Cute, he was waiting for me to come home, you smiled a little to yourself. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. Unlocking the door, you immediately found yourself greeted by a small purring mass at your feet.
Even through the material of your clothes, you could feel the chill that was practically emanating off your newly acquired house guest. Shaking off the thought, you set down a bowl of food for it before pondering names for the new roommate of yours. Noting that as a problem for later, you plopped down on the couch, mindlessly scrolling on your phone as you lay on your back.
Not long after you got immersed in a particularly interesting video, you jolted as you felt a cold weight curl onto your stomach. Should I take this thing to a vet…? Even with your comfortable salary, a vet visit for a cat that was hardly yours wasn’t exactly in the budget. Reaching a hand down to stroke along its body, it responded with a low, content purr. You had to admit, it was cute, though a bit quirky looking.
After a while, you felt yourself nodding off, and before long you’d slipped into sleep with your new companion. Waking to feel a strangely heavy weight pressing into the lower half of your torso, your eyes opened to see something that was most definitely not the cat, with its larger upper body lying comfortably on your torso.
Preparing to let out a scream, your mouth was quickly covered by a stitched hand as wide, two-toned eyes stared up at yours, partially obscured by that familiar silvery blue hair. Your heart felt like it was ready to jump out of your throat.
“Shhhhh, wouldn’t want to get a noise complaint, would you?”, the intruder grinned up at you as he spoke, his voice dripping with excitement. Pinned beneath his heavy form, you writhed to no avail and he shushed you again, as if he was a parent consoling their crying child. His condescension made your stomach twist, and your wide eyes stared back at him as you wondered if this might be your last night on earth.
“You let me in, didn’t you? I saw you left the window open just for me!”, he beamed up at you, his voice carrying an unnerving melodic tilt to it as he spoke. With his hand still covering your mouth, you furrowed your brow, slowly putting the pieces of everything together.
All of it was further confirmed when a pair of cat ears sprouted up, as if out of thin air, on the top of his head. Seeing that you had finally figured it all out, the ears dissipated from his form, and he smiled up at you with gleeful satisfaction. Ok, so this guy can transform… or something, you noted silently.
If he’d still been in the shape of a cat, you were certain the creep would have still been purring. Your thoughts were cut short by him speaking again, and you shivered as you felt his cool breath fanning upward toward your face. “I won’t kill you, if that’s what you’re thinking…”, he offered, his chest vibrating slightly against your torso while he kept you pinned under his weight.
For being so slim, he was immensely heavy, forcing you to receive your air in quick, shallow breaths. “… It’d be a waste, anyway. You’re the first regular person to be able to see me, how interesting…”, he continued, letting out a pleased hum as he shifted his weight forward to study your features closer.
As far as humans went, he found you easier on the eyes than most, though he wouldn’t exactly call what he felt toward you to be attraction, but rather… a fascination, of sorts. Slowly, he eased his hand off your mouth, eyeing you closely for any signs that you would cry out.
When you didn’t, however, he took that as enough of a cue to sit back onto his knees, effectively straddling between your parted legs. While any usual human might have had the presence of mind to notice or react to such a compromising situation, Mahito seemed to not even be aware of the position you both were currently in.
Something about him was strikingly uncanny, so much that it made every instinct in your body scream for you to run, fight, anything. Whatever the hell this dude was, you knew he couldn’t possibly be human, and he certainly didn't appear to be a sorcerer. It seemed that without much thought, your body had automatically opted for the “freeze” in the three F’s, lying still beneath him as you tried to gather the wits to speak to the inhuman being that was now invading your home.
Making the most predictable choice, you took a breath before asking what he wanted, earning a giddy laugh from the curse. Clearly taunting you, he gave you a thumbs down before putting on an exaggerated frown, “c'mon, so boring! It’s always the same thing with you humans”, he jeered, the stitched pattern stretching across his pale cheeks as he grinned down at you.
Leaning closer, his eyes glinted in the low light as he placed his hands to each side of your head, effectively caging you in below his lithe body. As he leered over you, the curse's hair cascaded past his shoulders, the length of it brushing your cheeks and causing you to flinch at the sensation.
With him being so close, you could make out the stitching on his face and arms as not tattoos, as you’d previously thought, but the real deal. It almost looked as if he’d been hacked apart and pieced back together. For a moment, part of you wondered if the stitched patterning continued beneath his clothing, too, but your focus was quickly snapped back to the present danger you were in as he spoke again.
“Can’t you come up with anything more creative to ask me? Like oh, maybe why I would choose to play with a little human like you..?”, he practically purred the words out, cutting you off before you could even manage a reply. “I can tell you, since you seem so curious…”, he spoke again with a smile, lifting a hand to gesture to your chest, “...the soul in your body is a fascinating shape”.
Whatever the hell that meant. It would be a question for later, assuming you'd even survive the night.
“And better yet”, he continued, grinning widely as he drew closer, “…you can see me”.