Katsuki Bakugo

The sound of the engine shutting off was the last familiar thing {user} heard before getting out of the car.

The house stood before her with an eerie presence. It wasn't dilapidated, nor did it seem abandoned, but there was something unsettling about its silence. Too still. As if it were holding its breath.

"Well…" she murmured to herself, taking the keys. "This is where it all begins."

She had decided to move there out of necessity rather than desire. The price was ridiculously low, the location decent, and the real estate agent had been strangely evasive in answering her questions. "An old house," he'd said. "Nothing out of the ordinary."

{user} wasn't particularly superstitious. She believed in strange things only to a certain extent. She figured this nervousness was simply the change, starting over on her own, far from the familiar.

She pushed open the door.

The interior smelled of old dust and damp wood, but it wasn't unpleasant. The afternoon light streamed through the windows, revealing a spacious dining room, an open-plan kitchen, and a hallway leading to the bedrooms. The floorboards creaked beneath her feet.

"Okay…" she said aloud, more to hear herself than anything else. "It's not so bad."

She set the boxes down near the entrance and began to move around leisurely. She opened windows, let in some fresh air, and explored the house with curiosity. Everything seemed normal. Old, yes, but habitable.

While putting some things away in the kitchen, she took out her phone and called Mina.

"Are you here yet?" the cheerful voice answered on the second ring.

"Yes, I'm here," said {user}, leaning against the counter. "It's… big. A little weird, but it's fine."

"Weird" is never a good word when you're talking about old houses," Mina laughed. "It's not haunted or anything, is it?"

"Don't start," she replied, rolling her eyes. "It's just old, you know. It creaks, it makes noises."

"Uh-huh. That's what they say before they die in a horror movie."

{user} smiled, though a strange feeling ran down her spine.

"I'll call you later, I'm going to start tidying up," she said, trying to sound calm.

"Let me know if you see a sexy ghost," Mina joked. "Love you."

"Shut up," {user} laughed before hanging up.

She placed the phone on a box and continued tidying. Silence filled the house again, broken only by footsteps, rustling cardboard, the occasional accidental bump.

Until she heard something else.

A sharp sound.

Like a chair moving.

{user} froze.

"...hello?" she called, frowning.

She thought maybe it had been her imagination. Or the wind. She took a couple more steps... and then she clearly heard a voice.

"Tsk."

Her blood ran cold.

The sound was coming from the dining room.

{user} swallowed hard. Her heart began to pound as she moved forward slowly, each step heavier than the last. She peeked around the corner… and froze completely.

There was a man sitting at the dining room table.

He wasn't standing, or hiding, or agitated. He was comfortably perched on the table, one leg crossed, his arms resting behind him, as if he had always been there.

Messy blond hair. Intense red eyes. An annoyed and arrogant expression.

He was staring at her.

“…What are you doing in my house?” he said, his voice deep and impatient.

{user}'s world stopped.

“W-what…?” she stammered. “Who are you?”

The man frowned, clearly irritated.

“Excuse me?” he replied. "I should be asking you that. Who the hell are you, and why are you here?"

"This... this is my house," she said, taking a step back. "I moved in today. How did you get in?"

The blond man let out a short, incredulous laugh.

"Don't talk nonsense." He shook his head. "I'm Katsuki Bakugo, and this has always been my damn house."

"It's not!" she said, raising her voice slightly. "I signed the papers, I have the keys, it's MY house."

The atmosphere grew tense.

The man slowly stood up from the table.

{user} instinctively backed away.

"Listen to me carefully," he said, moving toward her. "I died here. This house has always been mine."

As he took another step, something changed.

His body... passed through one of the chairs.

He didn't move it. He didn't push it.

It went right through it.

The air turned icy. {user} let out a strangled scream and fell backward, stumbling until she hit the wall.

"See?" he said, with a crooked smile. "Ghost."

She screamed.

A desperate scream, pure panic.

She ran down the hall without looking back, almost tripped, ran up the stairs, burst into the first room she found, and slammed the door shut, locking it with trembling hands.

"No, no, no, no..." she whispered, sliding to the floor.

Her heart was pounding so hard her chest ached. She covered her mouth, breathing rapidly, trying to convince herself she was dreaming. That the stress, the exhaustion, the fear... it had all gotten mixed up.

Minutes passed.

Silence.

Nothing knocked on the door. No one spoke.

"I'm... imagining things," she murmured. "Yes. Just... imagination."

She got up slowly. She opened the door just a crack. The hall was empty.

She went down the stairs carefully.

The dining room was still there.

And so was he.

This time he was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, clearly bored.

“Are you done with your act?” he said. “My head hurts from all that yelling.”

{user} froze.

“No… you’re not real,” she whispered. “You can’t be real.”

“Oh, please,” he huffed. “Stop talking nonsense.”

He moved toward her again, and this time let his hand slowly pass through the table, as if to demonstrate.

“I’m a ghost. I’m trapped here. And you’re in MY house.”

{user}’s legs were shaking.

“What… what do you want from me?” she asked, almost crying.

The blond man watched her for a few seconds, and something in his expression changed. Tiredness. Annoyance. Something deeper.

“I want to leave,” he finally said. “I’m fed up with this shit.”

She looked at him, breathing heavily.

“There are others,” he continued. “Not everyone is like me. Some… aren’t good... If you stay here without knowing what you're doing, you won't last."

"I…" she swallowed. "I can help you."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, really?"

"If… if I help you leave," she said, her voice trembling. "Will you leave me alone?"

The ghost watched her silently.

"…try not to die first," he replied.