Chapter Text
The moonlight made all ghosts look ethereal. That's what Denki thought anyway. There was no other way to describe it. That's the word that came to mind when he saw any ghost under the pale moonlight.
And it wasn't any different now as the high schooler watched a man and woman ballroom dance above the floor of a nursing home community room.
The couple weren't young by any means, but they were youthful in the way they carried themselves. The said couple was the whole reason he was up in the middle of a cold December night.
Even though he should probably get a move on, so he could help them into the afterlife, he can't help but admire the beauty of the scene before him. "Are you done staring yet?"
Looking away from the couple, Denki looks over to the ghost that has grown attached to him six years ago.
Hitoshi was one of the rare ghosts that Denki has met because he was still alive in some hospital. He was seventeen years old and had purple unruly hair. The clothes the ghost wore were a pair of black jeans and a striped purple and black shirt with a grey scarf wrapped around his neck. The pair of clothes were the only clothes Denki has ever seen the ghost in.
"What's wrong with staring?" Denki questions looking back to the couple.
"Can we just get this over and done with" Hitoshi brisks with his arms crossed. "I wanna go back to bed."
"You can't even sleep."
"Yeah, but the cats were asleep before these goons woke them up with the piano." He was referring to the piano that was being played in the corner of the room, no musician played the keys, they were being pressed by themselves.
"I was asleep too y'know." Shinsou shrugs and walks further into the room, making Denki follow. "Excuse me," the woman looks over to him before she lets go of her partner.
"Why hello there young man," she greets descending to his level. "Aren't you dapper." Denki was sure she was making fun of him considering he was still in his pajamas.
"Thank you ma'am," Denki says. "I have a question if you don't mind answering." She nods, telling him to go ahead. "Are you waiting for someone or something?"
The woman's expression softens before she glances or to the man standed a few paces away from them. "We're waiting for my son," a frown tugs at her lips and she continues to explain. "My son was supposed to dance with us at our anniversary so we could get to meet his fiance," The man now known as this woman's husband sets a hand on her shoulder. "But he never came."
"I'm sorry," Denki whispers.
The husband finally speaks up, "You shouldn't be the one apologizing for my son's no show." The teen goes to say something else, but he's interrupted, "It was nearly two decades ago, we know he's not coming, but Sora still wanted to wait for him."
"Would you like to dance with us instead?" The wife, Sora, asked with a small plea behind her kind eyes.
"I don't have a dance partner or know any waltz."
Both of the elder ghosts' eyes drift over to where Hitoshi stood watching the whole interaction. "Can he not be your partner," the husband asks.
"He's a ghost, sir. I can't touch him," Denki quickly explains.
"Really? He looks so lively, doesn't he Yuta? " Sora mumbles to Yuta, her husband.
"He does, dear."
If ghosts could blush, Denki was sure Hitoshi would be bright red. "My husband and I can instruct you two on what to do," Sora reassures. "So what do you boys say?"
"Yes!"
"No."
Both the teens look at eachother, "Why not?" Denki asks, "This could be fun, we haven't had an easy one like this in a while."
"I don't dance, I don't sing, I don't play instruments. We've been over this a hundred times, Denki."
Denki rushes over to Hitoshi and clasps his hands together in a plea. "Please~." The ghost just narrows his eyes and stares down at him, not budging in his decision. "I'll let the stray cats in when we get home and let you feed them treats."
And just like that, they were in the middle of the room standing across from each other as Sora and Yuta instructed them on what to do. Cats have always been Hitoshi's weaknesses and Denki would have to deal with all the cat hair after sending these people on later, but it was how the two functioned when Denki needs something from the ghost and it worked for them.
"Ok, Kaminari was it," Sora asks. Denki nods so she continues, "Place or hover your hand on Shinsou's left shoulder, then act like you're holding his right hand. Alright, now Shinsou place your hand on Kaminari's hip, then hold his outstretched hand."
Denki shivered at the 'touch' but none of the ghosts paid any mind as it was normal for someone alive to get shivers if they were touched by a ghost.
"Now follow what we do," Yuta instructs.
As they try to follow along Denki is glad he couldn't step on Hitoshi's feet, considering they were doing a horrible job. Sora adjusted them a few times before starting the music as well. The only thing she said before starting it was, "Have fun with it."
The music starts and they start their makeshift waltz. "They are beautiful," Denki whispers while trying to watch the couple.
"You call every ghost you met handsome or beautiful," Hitoshi points out. "You called me handsome when he first met."
"All ghosts are stunning in this lighting," Denki states looking up at the window that was letting the moonlight filter into the room. "It makes you glow if you know what I mean."
"I have no clue what you're on about."
Denki let out a sigh and looked up at the couple as they he waltzed the room above them. "You don't see the moonlight reflecting off their image. It makes them look ethereal."
"I guess."
"You guess?"
"What do you want me to say, I can see what you mean by ethereal, but I wouldn't go as far as calling everyone beautiful."
Denki lets out a small chuckle before teasing his friend, "Are you complaining about the first time we've met?"
¤
《Six years ago, Denki had met Hitoshi in Saitama City General Hospital.》
At the age of eleven opening his eyes against the powerful fluorescent light of a hospital was the hardest thing in the whole world.
Once he did manage to open his eyes, he would register his usual killer migraine that was always constant in his day to day life. Then he would notice that his limbs refused to listen to him, and he had the taste of iron in his mouth. This all would lead him to let out a groan, knowing that he had yet another seizure.
Scanning the room for his parents he noticed a boy with purple hair staring at him from the window still. The boy seemingly glowed in the moonlight and looked slightly translucent. Furrowing his brows Denki used all of his energy to sit up. "Who are you?"
The boy's eyes widened before blurting, "You can see me!"
Denki immediately shushed him while massaging his temples. "Why wouldn't I be able to see you?"
"I'm kinda dead right now."
"What!" Denki exclaims with his hands dropping to his lap. Trying to decipher if the boy was lying Denki looks over the boy taking in his pale skin and gravity defying hair, "You're messing with me."
"I said kinda, not fully."
"Is that why you look handsome?"
"Excuse me?"
"You're glowing, kind of, it's pretty."
The boy opens his mouth before closing it then asks, "Are you alright in the head, I feel like someone would freak out a bit more, not call me handsome."
"I did just have a seizure," Denki mumbles mostly to himself, "did it scramble my brain into seeing stuff?"
"If you tell a doctor about me, they are going to send you to the psych ward."
Denki ignored the comment for now, "What's your name?"
"Shinsou Hitoshi."
"Kaminari Denki, So~ what do you mean by kinda?"
The question was met with silence before Hitoshi mumbled, "I'm in a coma," while looking out the window. Denki goes to ask a million questions, but Hitoshi interrupts him. "I don't want to talk about it."
"I won't talk about it, as long as you don't ask me about my seizures. The doctors already poke and prod at me enough."
"Deal."
A doctor walks into the room interrupting Denki when he goes to start small talk. "It's good to see your awake Kaminari-kun," The doctor starts to ask if he's feeling alright, and Denki gives vague answers as he watches Hitoshi from the corner of his eye.
¤
"I'm not complaining," Hitoshi huffs, Denki has a feeling the ghost's cheeks would be flushed if he weren't dead, "It's just weird that you call the dead beautiful."
"Are you jealous?" Denki teases with a laugh.
Hitoshi narrows his eyes at Denki and waves his hand through Denki's shoulder making him shiver. "Why would I be jealous? There's no reason to be jealous of some monkeys that aren't going to be ghosts for much longer."
The small rant earns a snort out of Denki, "What have I told you about calling people monkeys, it's rude."
"It's not like anyone can hear me anyway."
"The ghosts can."
"Yeah, but I don't care what they have to say anyway."
Fondly shaking his head Denki looks up to the couple. The music was starting to simmer, and they started to fade as if they had never haunted the nursing home in the first place. The two disappear, with Yuta dipping Sora to the 'ground' while they kiss.
It was such a sweet moment that Denki nearly forgets to look away as they completely fade with a blinding light. "It's such a bummer I can't watch as ghosts fade completely."
"Technically, you can, you'll just end off in one of your seizures that you love so much," Hitoshi comments as Denki glares at him.
"It's not worth it if my brain spasses out afterwards, and I can barely remember it anyway."
Hitoshi hums and looks up at the moon, filtering into the room. It gives Denki approximately thirty seconds of taking in the ghost ethereal beauty before his name is called from the hall. "Denki, dear?" his grandmother calls while hobbling down the hall.
Denki drops his hands from Hitoshi and steps around the taller to meet his grandma halfway, "I'm right here Nan," he soothes placing a hand on her shoulder. "What are you doing out of bed?"
"I could ask the same of you boy."
"Just went for a walk, I couldn't sleep."
"Mhm, you're not up talking to that girl of yours are you" she scolds. Denki flushes as he hears Hitoshi let out a loud laugh from behind him. The blond didn't have a girlfriend, his family assumes he does because he's always on his phone, so he can cover up talking to Hitoshi and not sound crazy. And after a while of giving the excuse of being on his phone gave his family the fuel they needed to assume he had a girlfriend.
"Was not," Denki whines.
His Nan just takes his arm and starts leading him back to her room. "Nothing to be ashamed of. If I had a phone back in my day, I'm sure I would've been the same with your grandpa."
The conversation topic just makes him flush more if that were humanly possible. Hitoshi starts to tease him which didn't help in the slightest. "You should tell me about this girl of yours Denki, I'd be happy to meet her." If looks could make ghosts move on, Hitoshi would be in hell from the quick look Denki sends him.
"When are you heading home tomorrow?" The question makes Denki return his focus to his grandmother.
"The train is at ten, so around nine thirty."
His grandmother nods, "Well, you better get as much sleep as you can before then." Denki nods, and lets go of her arm so he can return to his spot on the sofa. "Oh, and no more treats for whiskers, you've already spoiled him rotten."
Letting out a laugh Denki looks over to Hitoshi who was sulking at her words. "He's such a good kitty though," the ghost whines while looking down at the feline. Whiskers stares at Hitoshi with a bored look before trotting away to curl up on their cat bed
"Alright, no more treats."