Ghost in the Closet

Who Did This? Do I Even Care?

He could hear the faint chiming of a doorbell from inside the home as Saihara idled outside, waiting for an answer. The door slammed open and Harukawa stepped forward, glaring at him with her arms crossed. Saihara didn't falter, she didn't intimidate him (even though everyone else in the world seemed terrified of her). "You're two hours late. We already started."

"I had something to do." Saihara felt a little guilty about missing the majority of game night, but it wasn't his fault. They'd have to blame the person who killed his parents. Harukawa shrugged and stepped aside, letting Saihara enter and approach his friends.

Akamatsu gasped and jumped to her feet as soon as she saw him. "I thought you weren't coming!" She shouted, hugging Saihara tight. He chuckled and returned the hug.

"Why not?" He would never miss something that his friends wanted him to attend. Not if he could help it.

"You should've been here two hours ago, Sidekick!" Momota shouted with a wide grin.

"Sorry, Ouma drained my phone again so I couldn't text you guys," Saihara sighed. Akamatsu pulled away from the hug and held her friend's hands in hers.

"Sorry about that, or am I~?" Saihara jumped and shoved Akamatsu away, turning and thrusting his arm out to choke the sudden intruder. His arm flew through Ouma, a familiar ice encasing the limb. Sighing, Saihara let his arm drop to his side. "I swear to God that I'll kill you someday."

"I'd love to see you try to kill the dead, Saihara-Chan!"

"I'll resurrect you then."

"Oh no, the horror!" The two smiled at each other and chuckled. Saihara loved their shared humour, especially surrounding the whole human and ghost relationship. Was it an interspecies friendship if Ouma was technically a human? They loved to debate (okay, maybe it was more arguing than debating) about these things.

"What were you up to, Saihara?" Amami asked, rerouting the conversation to the original issue.

"I'm a murder suspect. Spent a while being interrogated."

Everyone grew silent before their brains decided to work again. A mixture of confused frowns and shocked stares filled the room. Even Ouma had a look of surprise. Saihara found himself matching the ghost's stare, wondering if Ouma truly gave him space for once, or if he was lying again.

Saihara rolled his eyes and pushed past his friends. "I'm already a murderer, what do two more victims make me?" As he turned to flop into the couch, the bluenette caught a glimpse of Ouma's frown.

"You told them?!" The ghost suddenly shouted whilst crossing his arms. Fucking hell, if Ouma spoke another word then he could reveal Saihara's true identity; all because of a misunderstanding. He needed to think of a lie, and fast. Ouma didn't need to fall for it, he just needed to get the hint.

He groaned and flopped his head onto the back of the couch as his friends took their original seats. "Ouma, you haven't forgotten already, have you? I told you ages ago that I killed my last therapist."

If Ouma's brain were visible, Saihara bet that he'd be able to see gears whirring. "Oh, right! That was just a lie, Saihara-Chan!" Ouma cried with a giggle as he floated over to his roommate. "Gotta make sure you don't have dementia!"

"Saihara," Harukawa interrupted. "That was self-defence, stop calling yourself a murderer." Despite her deadly frown, Saihara noticed an empathetic sparkle in her crimson eyes. He ignored her in favour of paying attention to Ouma, whose body solidified and curled into Saihara's side.

"We're talking when we get home," the ghost whispered into his ear. Saihara nodded, unable to shake a slightly anxious twinge in the back of his mind.

"Oi, Sidekick, why'd ya get interrogated?" Momota asked the question on everyone's minds. It wasn't every day that a friend is suspected of murder. Well, for most people.