Kronii x Mumei :D
Ghost AU
Tw// Violence! Talk of sexual harassment (not for long)
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Mumei sighed as she finished giving animal her food for the day. Animal yipped happily as Mumei continued to finish her new morning routine.
You see, Mumei was new to this area. She'd just moved in and got settled into her new apartment. She'd finished unpacking the last of her boxes last night after working all day. Today was going to be her first normal day in the building! To say Mumei was excited, that'd be an understatement.
However, that excitement didn't last long when she stepped into the bathroom and saw a face in the mirror beside hers. The excitement turned to confusion in an instant. What or who was that? In Mumei's honest opinion, whoever it was kinda looked like a character from some horror movie just standing behind her like that.
But Mumei wasn't worried about this. She was used to seeing things that weren't there. She was what some called, a medium. And what others called, a psycho. She could see ghosts, talk to them, even touch them if she focused hard enough. But in her years living, she's learned that not all ghosts are friendly. Not all are scary either. They can be both, sometimes times they can be neither. Other times, they're a mix and match game. Only one thing was certain when it came to ghosts.
Like people, ghosts were complicated.
That's why Mumei usually tried to keep her distance. Ghosts were so unpredictable and hard to read, it was almost always a losing battle when talking to them. A few just wanted to complain about their old life and how unfair it was that they were dead, even when no one was listening. So Mumei simply didn't. Listening to the ghosts only brought a heavy heart and the helpless feeling of not being able to help.
But the odd thing wasn't the fact there was a ghost, it was the fact that she hadn't known earlier. That she'd unpacked all day yesterday without seeing this ghost at all was interesting to say the least.
As of now though? The ghost seemed to be lost in thought, looking at her own reflection. Though Mumei would admit she was one of the prettiest ghosts she'd ever met, she didn't know if it warranted that much time looking in the mirror at herself.
However, the brunette dropped the topic, and started to busy herself with brushing her teeth. As she went on like this, the ghost didn't move, just continued to stare into the mirror. She ducked her head to wash her face, but when she came up again the woman was no longer there. Strange.
She was just finishing up in the bathroom when she heard Animal bark.
She exited the bathroom to see animal lying on their back and the woman kneeling to pet them. Mumei watched for a moment, glad that this ghost seemed a bit friendly at the least. She smiled down at animal and gave her a few little scratches near their collar, carefully avoiding the ghost's hands on the dog's belly.
Mumei continued her day as if nothing was different.
<°^°>
The next morning Mumei woke up, the ghost was standing in the corner of her room. She knew she'd been looking at the ghost for a little longer than necessary when the ghost kinda cocked her head to the side. As if to justify her actions, and keep her secret, she did the same to the other corner of the room. This one stayed empty.
Mumei then made a show of looking confused for a second, eyes trained to her lap. She could practically feel the ghost's confusion as she debated her next words. Deciding that she'd acted enough, a smile slipped onto her face. "Oh yeah! I moved." She said out loud, making sure the ghost could hear her before she got out of bed. When she saw the ghost smile a little, Mumei knew she'd heard.
Almost immediately, the owl like girl started her morning routine. The ghost followed her the entire time, always watching but never trying to talk or interact. The only time the ghost didn't follow, she had put Animal on a leash and started out the door. But once she was back home, it started once more.
This continued for half a week. Mumei was glad the ghost seemed friendly, but it was a little odd how she seemed so content to watch instead of talking to Mumei or even haunting her. The woman even helped her when she couldn't find something. Something would always conveniently fall over, and there was her missing item. Honestly, it had gotten to the point where the ghost felt more like a roommate rather than a visitor. So much so, Mumei had accidentally made two plates of dinner rather than one.
On the bright side, she got to know the ghost's personality a little better. The ghost often got distracted at mirrors, hated messes, and got very nervous when Mumei cooked. The ghost was taller than Mumei and her hair was a muted Raven blue. Although she was transparent and pale, she always seemed elegant. But Mumei's favorite part? It was her bright blue eyes. They seemed like the only part of her that shone with magnificent color.
Mumei wanted to know her name.
She put the extra plate in the fridge before finishing her own plate and getting ready for bed. She wouldn't ask tonight or even tomorrow, but she'd ask for the ghost's name soon. She just needed to make sure the ghost wasn't here to harm anything first. Then, only then, would she acknowledge her.
Mumei went to sleep, dreaming of the very sapphire peeking at her from the closet.
<°^°>
Mumei woke up shivering. It wasn't until her sleepy eyes adjusted that she realized why. There was a very pale hand on hers, blue nail polish flawless as ever. "-ops..."
At the sound of noise, Mumei's eyes followed up the arm to the burning blue eyes of the ghost. It was the only time she's ever tried to interact with Mumei since she's been here.
Something was wrong, she could see it in the ghost's eyes. The taller woman opened her mouth once more, struggling with the words as if she hadn't talked for a long time. "C-ops...call...cop...s..." said a smooth voice. Her voice was like velvet, but Mumei tried not to focus on that yet. Right now, this ghost was telling her to call the cops.
She mouthed the word 'why' to the ghost, but grabbed her phone anyway. She seemed to understand, because she was answering Mumei not even a second later. "Man...d...oor...alm..ost...in." Mumei could see the ghost was using all her energy to speak, not knowing that Mumei could hear her either way, but she had no time to correct the ghost. She had called the emergency number immediately, but the ghost wasn't done. "M...mur..derr...My...murd...erer."
Mumei froze as the phone was answered on the other end. The ghost's murderer? Here now? This was bad, she could be next. The person on the other line and broke Mumei out of her thoughts. "Yes hello?" She whispered as to not alert the guy trying to break in. "Yes, my name is Nanashi Mumei? There's someone trying to break into my apartment." She gave them the address, and after the confirmation that someone was on their way, she hung up.
She turned to find the ghost gone, no where to be seen. She was going to stay in her room, wait it out until the police got there, but a thought came to her mind. Just as she had thought about her, she could hear Animal growling in the next room over.
Immediately, Mumei was out of the room looking for her dog. What she found was the ghost standing in front of Animal's face, and a man dressed completely in black. His gun was aimed for Animal, but as soon as she appeared, the gun was pointed at her. She could hear the ghost curse under her breath, no longer straining to communicate.
For a moment, everything stilled. No one moved, not even the ghost. Then the man smirked under his mask. "Well well, what a pretty thing you are..." Mumei swore she saw the ghost scowl in disgust.
Said ghost started to float over to her cupboards, muttering to herself. Mumei could tell she had a plan, or at the very least a distraction. She decided the best thing to do here was stall for time. "Listen... you can have anything here. Just don't shoot, please." She said calmly.
Her voice was surprisingly steady for how scared she felt. Her owl like eyes never left the intruder, but she snapped her fingers. It was Animal's command for come. As the dog trotted over, Mumei could see the man's eyes watching for any sign of aggression. Watching for an excuse to shoot. Once Animal was safe by Mumei's side the man chuckled. It made both Mumei and the ghost roll their nose in disgust.
"What if I want you dead? Can I take your life, like I did to the others before you?" Before Mumei's blood had the chance to run cold, before she had a chance to see what the ghost was actually doing, all her cabinets opened at once. It was the perfect distraction, as the man turned and pointed his gun to her plates. Seeing her opening, Mumei grabbed Animal and ducked behind the island in the kitchen, out of the gunman's sight.
From here she could see the ghost standing by the open cabinets. Could see the anger clearly on the ghost's face as she reached into the open cupboard. Close enough to hear the ghost say, "I hope she's not emotionally attached to these plates." before one was taken out of the cabinet and thrown at the intruder.
Mumei heard it break over something, and chanced a glance from her safespace to see what had happened. She could see how the plate was smashed on the ground. Among the pieces of glass on the floor, was the gun. The man was holding his hand, meaning the ghost had gotten a bulls-eye. The next thrown plate smashed directly in his face and he fell backwards onto his rear.
The next instant, the ghost had floated over to the man, moving the gun completely out of his reach. Going as far as to kick it under the couch.
Mumei was instantly glad to have never experienced a haunting from a restless spirit before. Not only did that look like it hurt, but it also seemed to be scary if the man's reaction was anything to go by. He was shaking in fear, staring at the couch like it was the one to steal the gun.
He had started to get up and run away, but the door slammed shut as soon as he'd opened it. It must've been locked as well, because she heard the knob jiggle violently before it stopped again. The ghost wasn't going to let him leave, that was for sure, and Mumei had a front row seat to the show. It was also obvious that he was panicking, it almost made her giggle. He picked up an umbrella by the door, and started pointing it around randomly. This time Mumei did snicker a bit, imagining this guy trying to defend himself with an umbrella.
Against a ghost of all things.
She heard the man yell out something, asking if this was some sort of trick, but something cut him off. Mumei heard the telltale sound of glass breaking and just knew, the poor vase of flowers Fauna had given her was gone. But after, everything was silent. The only sound in the entire house was the sound of the front door unlocking.
Mumei sighed out in relief when she saw the ghost approaching her now. She felt a smile creep onto her face as the cabinets shut one by one. This ghost hated messes, that's for sure.
When she reached Mumei and crouched down, it was obvious when she had started focusing energy on being visible. Her muted colors grew more vibrant and her skin wasn't as pale as before, but her eyes still lit up a fantastic sapphire. She then tried to talk as well, having it come out broken up and slow like before. "Sor...rry...fo...for...plat...es."
Mumei only giggled, and raised her brow. "Don't worry I'm not... what was it you said? "Emotionally attached" to my plates." The ghost's form flickered for a second, having been caught off guard. It only made Mumei giggle harder. "As a matter of fact, I think I'd be more upset about the flowers."
The ghost looked a little sheepish at least, but stopped focusing her energy. Doing so let the muted colors bleed back in, but it was her eyes that still shone so brilliantly. "If you heard that... then, can you see me too?" A simple nod was given. Silence lingered for a moment before the woman started to speak again. This time the ghost seemed a little flustered. "Have you been able to all this time?" Mumei nodded, hugging Animal close. The woman groaned about Mumei seeing her check herself out in the mirrors, but the owl like girl could only giggle and agree.
When it was silent again, it was Mumei's turn to look a little sheepish. She felt compelled to explain, but they heard sirens approaching in the distance. So instead, she held out her hand. "I'm Nanashi Mumei, but you can just call me Mumei."
The ghost looked hesitant for a second. Mumei could practically feel her thoughts as she stared at the hand. Finally, she took it in her own. "Ouro Kronii. You can... call me whatever." The hand in her's was freezing, but Mumei liked it. It felt like holding a popsicle on a hot summer day.
Once their hands parted, Mumei stood while keeping hold of Animal's collar. The last thing she needed was them getting into the glassy mess made earlier. "Well, "whatever," I'm going to talk to the police for a bit. Mind taking Animal to my room and giving her some company?"
Kronii sputtered a little as the owl like girl started to laugh. In the end Kronii took Animal to the safety of her room, and Mumei stepped over the passed out form of the man to go out her front door.
When she opened the door she saw three cop cars, two of which already had workers exiting from them quickly. From the last car was a police man who exited slowly, unlike the others. He approached her in the middle of the yard where she stood waiting. Mumei was suddenly glad she had a ground floor apartment.
He extended his hand for a handshake that Mumei quickly reciprocated while muttering some pleasantries. They talked about what happened for a while while the other officers were detaining the man, who seemed to be awake at least.
She paused talking to the cop around the "ducking for cover behind the kitchen island" part in her story to turn back to the house where they had the man standing. He seemed to be awake now, at the very least. She called to the officers with a slight frown. "Hey, his gun is under the couch. If you wouldn't mind getting that, it'd be great." One looked to the man and back to the officer in front of her.
He chuckled a bit. "Well, what are ya waiting for? The girl said to get the gun." he said before turning to Mumei again. He motioned for her to continue, so she did. However, she left all the ghost stuff out. There was no reason to look crazy in front of this cop who'd only think she was lying anyway.
However, her hopes to not look crazy in front of this cop went out the drain as they brought the man out of the house. As soon as he saw Mumei, he started to yell and struggle in the cop's hold. The only thing she could really understand from his babbling was, "Devil woman" and "super powers." When the cop looked at her with a confused glance, all she did was shrug with a slightly nervous smile. "I must've hit him in the head harder than I thought." She started to sweat, hoping the man would buy into her lie.
Luckily the officer chuckled and nodded along. It took all her self control to not let out a breath of relief. That's when the chief said something interesting, peaking Mumei's interest. "Y'know a girl like you shouldn't be living alone out here. This isn't the best area to live in with the amount of crime here." The cop adjusted his hat looking to his coworkers closing the door, heading back to their vehicles. "As a matter of fact, you're the third house to be broken into this month."
Mumei weighed her options. If this worked, Kronii would finally get some justice in her favor. If it didn't? This cop may take her in for some extended questioning that Mumei honestly didn't want to deal with. For Kronii though? Mumei found she didn't mind that much.
"Oh really?" She started, faking a surprised look. "That would explain why he said that..."
The officer cocked his brow in a questioning manner. "He said something to you related to other break-ins?" Mumei nodded, putting a finger to her chin. Feigning a look of concentration she spoke up again.
"Yea, I had forgotten about it, but you saying that reminded me..." She refocused her eyes on the officer, letting her arms cross in front of her chest. "I forgot what he had said exactly, but he said I'd join the others before me? Said something about a tall woman with blue eyes too..." A half truth but all fact. Hopefully he'd know who she was talking about.
Luckily, she watched the officer's face as an expression of understanding made it's way there. It seems like he recognized the case at the very least. However he didn't elaborate further, instead he only nodded before excusing himself to follow his crew back to the station. He gave her a warning about some possible follow up questioning and court dates, but otherwise left rather quickly. Hopefully, excited to pin down the murder case.
After the cops drove away, Mumei entered her house to see Kronii standing by the kitchen sink. The glass from the plate had been cleaned up but the vase of flowers remained on the floor. However, it looked like the ghost had finished filling a glass of water for them.
Kronii pointed to the cup and said, "Flower." The way she said it made Mumei smile, and in return made the ghost smile back.
The owl like girl turned and picked up the flowers from the floor. When she placed them in the cup Kronii repeated the phrase in the same tone making Mumei giggle. "Flower?" She said back, through her giggles.
Kronii confirmed with, "Flower."
This repeated several times until she couldn't speak through her laughter and tears were in her eyes. In the end Mumei was left a giggling mess while Kronii just smiled and moved the flower cup to the window.
Once everything quieted down again, Mumei cleaned up the remaining glass pieces in the floor while Kronii checked on Animal in the other room. Luckily the dog had fallen asleep after all the chaos. And finally, after twenty minutes or so, everything had been cleaned up.
Mumei sat on the couch with a yawn, while Kronii sat beside her. She almost tried to lean her head on the ghost but caught herself before she did. However, Kronii saw her swaying and put a cold hand on her arm. "Hey, you should probably go to bed, it's kinda late."
Mumei whined and put her hand on top of the ghost's. It was cold, but she found it comforting. Something about Kronii in a whole was comforting, but something worried Mumei. "Promise you won't leave?"
She turned and met Kronii's soft eyes, the blue accented with her small smile. Something about it made her cheeks warm. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." With that, Mumei smiled too and let her eyes fall closed.