When Ghosts Whisper (Osomatsu-san Halloween Collection)

"Kagome, Kagome"

The chill autumn air was crisp, almost unnaturally cold for an early August night. Leaves still clung to the trees as they lost their vivid green color, most refusing to fall off when the wind gently blew against them. Those that did shake loose fell shakily onto the pavement below, crushed underfoot as the rush hour crowd grew thicker along the sidewalks and churning like blood rushing through a vein.

The city was definitely alive as the throngs of people and vehicles surged across its roads, beating steady to some unheard drum as the flow of traffic stopped and started again, forever repeating the rhythm until the sun completely sank beneath the horizon. With night fully eclipsing the cityscape, the crowds began to thin as people went about their separate ways to go home or dive into entertainment venues.

One man stood alone despite the crowds around him, dressed warmly for the night time chill with a long black scarf wrapped around his neck and lower face to protect against the winds that occasionally turned harsh through the tight streets of the city. His dark eyes looked up to the light-polluted sky, straining to see the flickering stars above the veil before turning his gaze earthward and walking through the groups of people.

He had a job to finish tonight and then he could spend the weekend however he pleased. At least, that's what his father told him.

It was a simple cleaning job, something that should be done in only an hour or so depending on the mess. But he liked these kinds of jobs. They paid quite a bit of money; money that he could use to fuel his pachinko habits and feed his alcohol addiction.

Lifting a hand to adjust the black scarf, he swiftly tucked the exposed hand back into the jacket pocket to keep warm as the wind picked back up, tossing about his dark hair dyed with small streaks of crimson red. Stifling a shudder, the man ducked into an apartment building and pressed the 'UP' button to summon the elevator.

The cleaning job was the last thing to do for the year and it would signify the end of a long list of chores his father had put him up to. A full weekend off would be nice to have, especially after the endless job requests.

The elevator door opened and the man walked into the car, holding the door open for another tenant of the building before asking the floor they needed to get to. They said the same floor as his destination.

Silently riding the car up to the designated floor, the man held the door open for the other tenant once more before turning away from where they went, following the numbers until he stood in front of the right apartment. Pulling off the long scarf and exposing his mouth and neck to the chill air, the man shuddered a little before folding the scarf over his left arm. It was a nice scarf that was a generous donation from another cleaning job, the owner gifting it without a qualm, and the man really didn't want to get it dirty.

Knocking on the door gently, the occupant called out for the man to wait a moment before the bolt lock slid open, the door opening gently to reveal a haggard looking man.

His dark hair was unkempt and hung low over his tired eyes, the dark hues gazing at the man on the other side of the door with suspicion.

"Hello, Ichimatsu."

The job was easier than he expected it to be, almost noiseless from start to finish. Despite the mess that the apartment was in, there wasn't much of a cleanup to do when the man was finished. This 'Ichimatsu' person had run into the bathroom and grabbed something from underneath the sink before the man chased him down, a clean blade cutting into the front of his neck and sliding through.

The man yawned as he dumped the body into the tub and arranged the knife that he had reached for in his hands, drawing it across the cut he had already made before letting the hand and knife clatter to the tiled ground. He started to scrub up the splatter that put the actual death closer to the door, taking his time and humming a song from his childhood that always made butterflies flutter in his stomach. Using a garbage bag from Ichimatsu's stash, the man threw out the bloody towels and used wash cloth after he finished cleaning up the bathroom.