Author's Notes: This story completely belongs to me, although ideas, character names, and events may be influenced by a number of animes I've seen. I will also try to minimize the use of Japanese in this fic, but some phrases can never sound good when translated, so..., go to www.oocities.org/storymasterq/ADDict.htm for translations. You can also mail me at storymasterq@softhome.net if you have further questions, suggestion, praises, or even flames.

My Roomate's a Ghost

Episode Two: Hajimemashite
(Subtitle: Episode Two: Allow me to introduce myself)

    "Here he is, Yaisu Toru, ghost conqueror!"
    Toru went into the public bath and found himself bombarded by clapping hands and handshakes.
    "How did you do it, Kid?"
    "Was the ghost scary?"
    "I heard from the last guy that he heard a ear-splitting scream when he ran away."
    Toru grinned, uncomfortable being in the midst of people he hardly know.
    "Hey, hey, Toru-kun, over here!"
    Toru noticed Shun waving from one side of the bath. He quickly went to him and took a spot next to him. He sighed. "Whoa, am I that famous?" he asked.
    "Of course!" Shun exclaimed. "Everyone who ever tried sleeping there never lasted more than one night. You're a legend, Toru-kun."
    Toru scratched his head, unsure on how to react to that.
    "Let's go to Rabu Cafe again today." Shun said as he coated himself with soap.
    Toru frowned at him. "I can't. You took my breakfast morning yesterday."
    Shun laughed. "No matter. I'm sure Lina would be happy to treat our legend a treat."
    Toru gave him a side look. "And why should you come along, then?"
    Shun pouted playfully, "Aw, can't a friend of the legend have some treat too?"
    Toru shook his head. "If you like to eat that much, Shun-kun, you should pay for it sometimes."
    "Not when I can help it!" Shun laughed.

    "Hnn..." Toru sighed as he submerged himself into a huge tub of hot water. Next to him were two older men and one elderly man.
    "Hey, you're Yaisu Toru, right? The legend who beat the 313 ghost?" one of the men asked.
    Toru sweatdropped. "Ahaha, um, yeah..."
    "Congratulations, Kid." the other man said, tapping the back of Toru's head. "You're one brave lad."
    "Uh-huh," the elderly man said, or actually coughed. "If only the young generation is as brave as you, why, this country will be great."
    Toru's sweatdrop swelled. The elderly man then continued to rant about the bravery of people in his younger days.
    "I don't know how you did it, but you're good." the first man said.
    "Hey, I know a haunted house near my old neighborhood. How about you vanquishing the ghosts there too?" the second man asked.
    Toru's sweatdrop multiplied. "Uh, I...I don't know..."
    "Ahahaha, just kidding, Kid. I don't believe in ghosts anyway. But you sure are something. No one has ever survived room 313 overnight." he laughed.
    Toru just smiled uncomfortably, "Ehehehe...yeah..."

    As Shun expected, Lina gave Toru quite a treat. As Shun dug into Toru's treat, Lina talked about Room 313.
    "Apparently, in the building, way before it was renewed, in room 313, a maid committed suicide." Lina said. "Nobody knew why she did it, but she did."
    "A maid, huh?" Toru asked. 'No wonder the room was so well-maintained...'
    "Also, before the building was renewed, anyone who slept in room 313 was found dead in the morning, frozen in fear." Lina said, raising her hands to elevate scariness.
    "Lina! Scaring customers! Cut salary!"
    Lina grumbled while Toru chuckled. "Well, I'd better get going, now. Bye, legend!" she said, winking at Toru before walking away.
    Toru turned to the table and found his food was gone. He looked up to Shun to see him slurping the last of a sundae ice cream. Toru grumbled. "The treat is for me and I don't get to eat? Dammit, I should've never moved into the same town as you." he said.
    "Oh, I saved some for you." Shun said.
    "Really?" Toru asked in anticipation.
    "Sure. You can have this." Shun said as he gave him a cherry from the sundae.
    Toru fell limp on the table. His stomach growled.

    Toru half-heartedly unlocked the door to room 313. He opened it and walked inside. "Tadaima..." he said, sighing. He cursed himself. "What am I saying...?" he asked himself. He closed the door and went to the bed. He threw himself on it, sighing.
    A moment later, he realized something. He quickly jumped to stand. "Oh, g-gomen..." he said, afraid that the ghost might be offended, but nothing happened. The sheet didn't return to its original position. Toru frowned. 'What...? Was I just dreaming last night?'
    Toru shook his head. "No, I was definitely not dreaming last night. The ghost really exists. But...where is she?" he asked. He shrugged before continuing to make the bed, tucking the sheets back to its original position. He took a step back, then sweatdropped. "It doesn't look as good if I did it, huh...?"
    "Hontou ni..." a soft reply came.
    Toru quickly turned around, but saw no one. He gulped. "A-Anoo..." He then heard some rustling behind him. He returned his vision to the bed and for the first time, saw the hazy figure making the bed. He saw how the ghastly but delicate hands tucked the sheets back into the bed. Mesmerized by the figure, he fell on his behind.
    A moment later, the bed was as perfect as it was when Toru set foot in the room. Toru waited, and finally the ghost turned to face him. Toru expected a scary face, full of boils, or even no face at all, but never in his 20 years of life he would expect a ghost with a beautiful face, smiling at him. He panicked. "Y-Yure!"
    The ghost smile widened to a slight chuckle as she hovered and landed legs folded in front of him. "Hajimemashite, watashi wa Shinobu desu. Douzo yoroshiku." she said in a very soft voice, bowing slightly.
    Toru quickly resumed the same position as her and bowed back. "Ha-Hajimemashite. Boku wa...Ya-Yaisu Toru desu...Do-Douzo...yo-yorishiku..." he groggily replied.
    The ghost smiled sweetly.
    Toru gulped. "A-Anoo...S-So...you're the ghost of room 313?"
    The ghost's face fell. Looking somehow sad, she nodded.
    Toru instantly felt bad. "Go-gomen...I intruded this room. Is...um, was this...your room?"
    Shinobu slowly shook her head. "I...used to be the maid for the building. I just...died...in this room."
    Toru cringed. "Gomen nasai. I reminded you of some bad memories."
    Shinobu shook her head, looking up smiling. "You're very polite." she commented.
    Toru blushed. He could never get used to seeing a beautiful face smiling at him, living or not. He then noticed Shinobu's overall appearance. She wasn't that old. "How old are you...I mean...were you...when you...um..."
    Shinobu smiled. "Died? I was 19." she replied. "I had just graduated high school and went here to work as a maid for the owner of the building."
    "Nineteen?" Toru raised an eyebrow. "So young...Hey, you're younger than me...Well, at least when you...uh, died..."
    Shinobu smiled. "It's alright. I'm used to being dead."
    The man and ghost silenced for a while, not knowing what else to say. However, Toru's stomach went and protested.
    Toru blushed while Shinobu chuckled. "Mou, at least I won't be hungry if I'm dead..." he said.
    "Didn't you have breakfast?" Shinobu asked.
    Toru told her how he got to eat one cherry, including how everyone regarded him as a legend for 'vanquishing' the ghost of room 313.
    "Vanquish?" Shinobu asked. "Are you...going to vanquish me?"
    "No way." Toru said. "Other than I can't, who'd want to vanquish such a cute...I mean...um, uh, such a helping ghost?"
    Shinobu looked down, smiling. "Such a shame...If I were alive, I could bring you some food. I was a great cook, you know?"
    "Why is that?" Toru asked.
    Shinobu sighed. "I...Ever since I died in this room, I can never go outside. It seems that I'm stuck here forever."
    Toru looked at her with sympathy. "So you did your best to keep the room clean, right?" he asked.
    Shinobu nodded.
    "Well, I say you did a great job." he said.
    "Thank you." Shinobu smiled.
    Toru blushed again. He scratched the back of his head, trying to find something else to say. He finally found one. "Um, I heard you...died...of suicide."
    Shinobu's smile turned sad.
    "I-If you don't want to talk about it..." Toru began, but Shinobu shook her head, stopping him.
    "You are the first person to talk to me ever since I died." Shinobu said. "I'd love to talk."
    Toru gulped, listening intently.
    "I...didn't die of suicide." Shinobu said.
    Toru nodded. "Thought so,"
    "I was...murdered."
    Toru took three full seconds to react. "N-NANI?!"
    Shinobu looked away to hide her sad expression to no avail. She seemed to try to continue talking, but something held her back.
    Toru wondered if ghosts could still feel the pain of remembering how they die. 'Maybe she could. She looked so hurt.' he thought. "Shinobu-chan, yamete, yo." he finally said. He smiled as he saw the ghastly figure turned to him in surprise. "If you find it difficult to say, please don't."
    "Y-You called me..."
    Toru smiled. "Shinobu-chan." he repeated. "Well, you're 19, I'm 20, it's not too informal, I hope."
    Shinobu shook her head, smiling.
    Just then, the door was knocked.
    Toru turned to the door then back to Shinobu, only to find her already disappeared. 'She couldn't go outside, so she must still be in here somewhere.' he thought. "Who is it?" he asked.
    "It's me." Lina. "I found out what Shun did to your treat. I'm going to treat you again for lunch. Without him this time."
    Toru stood up. "Uh, okay, I'll be out soon." He then turned to the room. "Ittekimasu, Shinobu-chan." he whispered.
    "Itterasshai, Toru-sama." she replied, only in voice.
    Toru raised an eyebrow at how the ghost called him, but then let it go as he went for the door.

    Lina and her friend from Room 405, Suzuki Sakura, took Toru to another small cafe near the apartment building.
    "Say, Lina-san..." Toru began to say, "Are you sure the maid died of suicide?"
    "Mou, Toru-kun, we're here to treat you and you're chatting about ghosts?" Lina asked back.
    "We know you're a legend, Toru-kun, but don't push it, okay?" Sakura chuckled.
    "It's not that..." Toru silenced.
    Lina frowned. She sighed. "If you must know, no, I'm not sure. There are a lot of versions on how the ghost got into room 313."
    "Yeah, the only thing in common in those versions are that it was a girl maid." Sakura added.
    "Why do you ask, Toru-kun?" Lina asked. She suddenly feigned a surprise look. "Don't tell me...The ghost actually exists? And she's haunting you?"
    Toru almost choked. "N-No, it's not like that." he said. "I just...wanted to know."
    "Well, curiosity usually pays only if you pursue it to the end." Sakura said. "Our current resident expert on the ghost in room 313 is my senior Tsutsume Asuka in room 405." She then leaned towards Toru a bit to whisper, "But I'd stay away from her. She's a bit nuts."
    "Sakura-chan!" Lina exclaimed. "She's not nuts...just...eccentric."
    "That's what I said," Sakura shrugged, "...nuts."
    Toru sweatdropped.
    "Speak of the devil..." Sakura said under her breath as she looked to one direction.
    Lina and Toru turned to where she was looking and found an auburn-haired girl, about their age, sitting alone. She was reading a book while occasionally sipped on her orange juice. Her glasses fell to her nose one a regular basis, so she kept returning them to their place, only to have them fall again a moment later.
    "Is that...?" Toru asked.
    "Yup." Lina said. "That's Asuka-senpai."
    Just then, two distinct beeping sounds were heard. Both Lina and Sakura checked their waist. "Oh, damn, we're called." Lina said, reading her beeper. "Seems like Rabu Cafe can't survive without its two best maid." She stood up.
    Sakura laughed. "Of course," she said as she stood up, "Who else can they hire that can have her salary cut every few minutes?"
    Lina sighed. She then turned to Toru. "Gomen, ne, Toru-kun. We'll continue this later. Here, I'll pay for our drinks."
    "Hey, no problem." Toru said, smiling. He then followed the girls scurrying away with his stare. After they were gone past a corner, he turned to where Asuka was sitting.
    To his surprise, she was staring at him. Toru quickly looked away, gulping. However, a few seconds later, he found someone sat where Lina had been sitting. He looked up to see Asuka. "A-Anoo, ko-konnichiwa." he greeted.
    Asuka's face remained sour. "Ne, you're Yaisu Toru, right, the legend?"
    Toru cringed. "I'm no legend."
    "You survived one night in room 313." Asuka said. "That is legendary."
    Toru shrugged. Then he remembered what he wanted to ask her. "S-So, you're our resident expert of the ghost?"
    "Apparently not anymore." Asuka said, confusing Toru. "Even I couldn't have stood one night in that room."
    Toru scratched his head. "Well, I, um, I wanted to ask you, how exactly did the maid die?"
    Asuka smiled a bit. "I have the accurate information on that." she said. "But it's in my room. Come over tonight, I'll show it to you." she said as she stood up. "Ja," she said before walking away.
    Toru scratched his head again. "Fourth floor...Am I even allowed on the fourth floor? To my knowledge, the whole floor is inhabited by girls..."

    Toru sighed as he arrived on the third floor. He was tempted to return to his room first, but then decided to continue on to the fourth floor. Just as he stepped on the first step of the stair, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
    "Boys are not allowed on the fourth floor." It was Ayami.
    Toru grinned, turning around. "N-Ne, you're sure quick." he said.
    Ayami fumed. "Legend or not, the fourth floor is for girls only."
    Toru scratched his head. "I, um, was invited by Asuka. Um, what was it...Tsutsume Asuka...in 405."
    Ayami raised one eyebrow. "Oh, really?" she said in a skeptic tone.
    "Hontou, desu!" Toru said.
    Ayami frowned. "Alright, I'll be accompanying you, then." she said.
    "Don't you trust me?" Toru asked.
    Ayami shook her head. "Nope." she said.
    Toru grumbled.

    "Ara, konbanwa, kanrinin." Asuka greeted as she opened her door. "What brings you here?"
    "Him." Ayami replied, pointing her thumb to Toru behind her. "You invited him?"
    Asuka smiled a bit. "Ah, yes. He'd like to find out more about the ghost."
    Ayami sighed. "Fine. No more than ten o'clock, okay?"
    "Yes, ma'am." Asuka said, saluting the manager.
    Toru followed Ayami with his stare as she walked away, then turned to Asuka. "Shall we start, then?"
    "Come on in." Asuka said, moving out of the way.
    Toru walked in, a thousand or so questions in his head.

Next on MRG: With the help of Asuka, Toru finds out a lot more about Shinobu. Particularly on how she died. Toru returns to his room with a remorseful mind. He feels sorry for Shinobu, but he can't do anything. Then, he finds out about the real truth on how Shinobu died. But it wakes some very troubling memories. Toru delves too deep into a ghost's past, he becomes a target of wrath.