Title: January's Child
Characters: Ensemble
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 787
Summary: AU. The true killer waits in the treacherous country of the past. Its winding pathways are long-forgotten, and he will not be so easily caught.
Notes:Ongoing on the kinkmeme. Prompt is a...spoiler,maybe? so I'll leave it out. Will post other chapters after extensive editing because raw drafts are awful raw drafts.

Chapter One: Spark

4/11

Cloudy/Rain

The moment their hands touched, Souji felt a shiver run down his spine, leaving a deep-seated chill that pooled uneasily in the pit of his stomach.

Under the brim of his cap, the gas station attendant smiled innocently at him. His palm, resting against Souji's, was as cold as ice. There was something strange about his eyes—but it was rude to stare, so Souji kept his smile and disengaged his hand as politely as possible.

The sick feeling in his stomach spread. His head spun. Probably an effect of his long trip; it was hardly fair to take it out on some stranger. They chatted for a while, while Souji tried not to look at the bright sunlight reflecting off the concrete. The attendant offered him a job. See—a perfectly ordinary guy, after all—a nice guy—

—shutup whywon'tyoujust shutup—

Though Souji would never say so, he was glad when Dojima showed up to break up the conversation. Retreating to the cool darkness of the car, he shut his eyes against the steady throbbing at the back of his head.

By the time the car pulled up to the Dojima house, he was already fast asleep.

He is searching for something, someone...

The fog blinds his eyes. But still he runs, though he leaves nothing behind and finds only nothing before him. The road unrolls under his feet, unchanging. Perhaps there is no end.

At one point he hears a second set of footfalls, echoing in tandem with his. Hope rises in his chest; he whips his head around to stare into the eternal fog.

But there is no one.

A voice asks him:

"What are you searching for? Why do you search for it?"

He answers: "I don't know. But whatever it is, I will find it."

"You are a fool."

"I know," he says. And he walks on.

4/12

Rain/Cloudy

"Did you go somewhere last night?" Nanako wanted to know over breakfast the next morning.

Souji blinked at her, forming a reply as he chewed at his toast. It was pretty good actually—his little cousin was obviously used to making breakfasts for herself. He hadn't been sure if she'd welcome the last observation, though, and had simply complimented her. She'd just smiled faintly, both of them far too aware of the awkward air hanging in between. For now, they were strangers. Hopefully that would come to change over the coming year; Souji had far too much experience with silent households to look forward to another one.

"No," he said after swallowing. "I was thinking of exploring, but...I was feeling too tired. Why d'you ask?"

She looked away, and Souji remembered: Right, she's shy. Best to avoid direct eye contact. Her voice soft, Nanako said, "I heard the front door...I thought it was Dad, but..." She trailed off and picked at her food.

Change the subject. "What does your father work as?"

"A detective." There's just the tiniest hint of pride in her voice, but also the tiniest hint of resentment. He wondered if she even knew—or Dojima knew. Probably, if he was as perceptive a father as he was a detective. He looked around at the tiny kitchen, at the house beyond, echoing with emptiness. If he hadn't been here, Nanako would have been home alone.

"He must be very busy," Souji said. "Why don't you show me around instead?" He smiled at her. "Starting with school?"

"O-okay..." Nanako said. "They're in the same area, so we can walk there together..." She twisted the hem of her skirt as she spoke, nervous, but at least it was a start.

They cleared the dishes together in slightly more companionable silence. While Nanako waited at the door, Souji headed upstairs—to his room, what a strange thought—to retrieve his schoolbag. As he was about to leave, a thought struck him. His wallet—it wasn't in his bag. His clothes from yesterday were still on the chair where they'd been thrown in a sleepy daze. He made a mental note to drop them into the laundry basket before rifling the trouser pockets.

The wallet was there all right, but...in confusion Souji wiped his hand on his shirt, leaving a slightly dark streak behind. His clothes were wet. Had he gone out after all? He remembered staggering up the stairs, barely managing to unpack his futon before succumbing to sleep; a brief stirring in the middle of the night when the rain intensified its banging on his window...

A tentative call, from downstairs: "Um...are you ready? We're going to be late..."

Way to get into your cousin's good graces, idiot!

The mystery would have to wait. He flew down the stairs, putting his best face forward for Nanako-chan. By the time they separated at the floodplains, the thought of first day at a new school and making friends had completely dominated his mind, and all else forgotten.

-next: a death in inaba-