Intangible (Daisuga)

Chapter IV

Chapter IV:
Strange

"What if I tell you, that some angels were meant to fall?"

The world could have very easily been mistaken for a movie; the blackness of the night in sharp, unreal contrast to the lightly falling snow lying gently on the ground. For hours, no creature dared to disturb the stillness.

Even the birds had ceased to fly. Their slender silhouettes did not grace the smallest bit of the piercing light of the half-moon. By comparison to this nothingness, even its slow, ponderous form seemed to hurry to escape the piercing cold.

A faint smile appeared on Daichi's face when he came across the exact location where he found Sugawara a few weeks ago. Up until now, he was still puzzled by his sudden appearance.

He shrugged the unnecessary thoughts away when he passed by his landlady's abode. The old woman was sitting peacefully on her recliner chair in the front porch, despite the temperature probably dropping to a nonexistent degree.

Daichi made his way towards her, and his presence was immediately acknowledged by the old woman in front of him.

"Yes, Sawamura-kun?" The old woman smiled.

He groped for his paper bills inside his jacket and smiled. "Sorry it came late, but here's my rent."

The old woman chuckled, leaving Daichi confused when she closed his palm and smiled. "Your friend Sugawara already paid for it earlier."

His mouth fell agape, but he tried to hide his shocked expression when he grinned. "Then this is for the next month."

"The rent he paid was for a whole year."

"What?" Daichi felt his knees tremble as he clenched his fists so tight, he knew it would leave imprints afterwards. "Where did he get all the money?"

"You better ask him child, not me." The old woman replied softly. Daichi was left with no choice but to head home. A lot of questions were on his mind, and he knew only one person could answer them.

Daichi unlocked the door and reluctantly turned the knob as he stepped inside. His eyebrows met when he heard indistinct voices from the other room, and he was pretty sure who it was. He nuzzled his ear against his bedroom's door, trying his best to not make a sound.

The door was slightly open and he could see Sugawara kneeling in front of the windowpane. "He still has no idea, I don't want to pressure him." Sugawara chuckled as he stared aimlessly outside.

Who is he talking to? Daichi pursed his lips, his heart beat erratically and he felt like it was gonna rip out of his chest anytime soon.

"He just needs time. I'll go back there once this is all over."

Daichi decided to stop eavesdropping and sprawled on his couch. Everything felt strange. He couldn't help but wonder at Sugawara's strange actions lately.

He would often hear him talk by himself these past few nights. Since they share the same room, Daichi was witness to all of those.

At first, he thought it was a means of comforting himself. Daichi thought he'd been going through something, and it was his only means of emotional release.

He held on to that theory of his until one night, he heard voices replying to everything Sugawara was saying. The voices were strange, they were hollow, they seemed to emanate from another dimension.

He shrugged the unnecessary thoughts away and just let them be as he smiled. Daichi noticed the huge difference, now that Sugawara was here.

A lot had change since he came in Daichi's life. He added color to his then, monochrome world.

He couldn't be thankful enough for his existence.

Snippets of his conversation with the old woman earlier came across his mind. He couldn't help but be bothered at the thought of Sugawara, having that huge amount of money, to pay his rent for the whole year.

He noticed the sudden changes in his unit as well for the past week. The walls were newly painted. His old furnitures were replaced by new ones, not to mention that all of them were topnotch. Sugawara would often bring home grocery bags filled with goods as well.

Daichi couldn't help but wonder where he'd been getting the money for all of those. The last time he checked, Sugawara had no job or any means of earning profit.

He was cut off his trance when Sugawara emerged from the bedroom's door, momentarily staring at him as he smiled. "Daichi-san, you're home!"

"Y-Yeah, hi."

"Come, dinner's ready. I actually waited for you and my tummy is already upset as we talk!" The silver-haired guy chuckled. He made his way to the dining area, leaving Daichi staring at his retreating figure.

An eerie feeling stirred within him. He knew something was strange with the man he's been living with for the past two weeks.

Who are you, Sugawara Kōshi? Daichi thought, before following close behind.