The Tempest

After a stressful year in the heart of Tokyo, Asuka is looking forward to the quiet atmosphere of his new home all the way up north in Hokkaido. The peace does not last for long, as it would seem, when a string of unexplained disappearances ends in a suicide epidemic and an enigmatic young man bribes him into fending off the demons and spirits intent on devouring the town and all of its inhabitants.

April 3, 2012

Monday

The verdant world outside the window was nothing like the snow cloaked and snow capped image that came to mind when anyone mentioned Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island. The broad bands of forest were different than the photographs printed on glossy brochures informing the ignorant masses that indeed, Hokkaido did experience every season.

All four windows were opened by a few centimeters, allowing the cool air to rush inside and toss their hair astray. Hiroko, his mother for lack of a better term, gave up attempting to pin back her lengthy hair a while ago and sat grumbling about the wind in the front seat.

Asuka, for his part, was mostly just sleepy and uncomfortable. Boxes and duffle bags were stacked to the roof in what could potentially be a driving hazard, with him compressed against the car door. Even when he tried to sleep his head only slipped and knocked painfully against the window, effectively jolting him awake.

He kept a bleary, watchful eye on the tower of boxes as the car swayed across the long stretch of back roads surrounded by nothing but trees and the occasional horse farm. It was hard to actually see much of the landscape, but there was just enough light in the sky to make out the general picture.

The travel guide indicated that it would only take an hour and a half to reach their destination. Tracing the long lines on the map with a lazy finger, he wondered how that was possible. It seemed like these roads never ended.

His gaze wandered back up to the ceiling in an effort to catch some sleep.

Although the scenery was a big change from the urban jungle that was Tokyo, it wasn't like this type of landscape was new to Asuka. It had been a few years since he last moved to a rural town or village, but the images were still fresh in his mind. Granted, this was the first time he was to live in Hokkaido or anywhere further north than Tokyo.

His parents more than made up for his lack of excitement. It had been decades since Hiroko last lived in the place of her birth and Yoshihiro, his (again somewhat) father had never left the Kanto area. They had considered this move for years now, but only just recently decided to act upon it.

Asuka sunk into his seat, feeling a little guilty for holding them back. They couldn't immediately move to Hokkaido with a thirteen-year-old boy they had just recently met, so they had been forced to put those plans on the backburner.

Not that they held it against him. The Nakajima's were nice people, but Asuka couldn't help but feel bad.

They were finally here, though, and just in time for the new school year. It was to be a bit awkward given that this area would hardly receive the same number of new students as a school from the city, but Asuka wasn't exactly nervous.

Introductions, he was good at. This was nothing new.

His parents worried, of course, but he smiled at them and tried to convince them that he would be fine.

He shifted into a new position, trying to find one that was halfway comfortable. It had been a constant struggle since they set off from the airport in this dingy rental. It seemed that his mother caught the subtle movement despite his attempt to keep quiet.

"Are you okay, Asuka? I know it's cramped back there, but it won't be that much longer until we arrive," Hiroko said sympathetically as she twisted around to see him. The thin lines around her mouth wrinkled in a smile, which he returned with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.

"I'm okay," he said, but it came out as more of a mutter.

He peered outside the window. Nope, still nothing but trees. At least the hazy cover of starry dawn was starting to lift. They'd get there no later than eight in the morning.

"Hiroko-san?" he asked, still discomfited with calling her "mother" or "mom". It wasn't the term she would have preferred, but she didn't seem too bothered all the same.

"Yes, what is it?"

He paused. Maybe it was just due to boredom, because he would never normally ask this. But he couldn't fall asleep and reading in the car gave him a migraine. Besides, Hiroko wanted him to talk more often.

"What's he like? Their son, I mean."

It wasn't that he was particularly worried, but these were the people he and his parents would be living with from here on out. The Kuroda family's only child was one year older than him.

"Oh, Ren-kun?" Hiroko said pensively. "I'm not too sure myself. I'm sure he's a nice boy, but I haven't seen him since they came to visit us in Tokyo when he was still a child. My sister told me that he's rather adventurous, though. She had a hard time raising him."

Asuka nodded and curled up into a tight ball, watching as a bag fell into place where his feet had once been. Maybe he should just try and get some sleep. If not, he'd probably be exhausted by tonight.

Moving never used to be this difficult for him. At least, he couldn't remember a time when he had this many issues. Not knowing what to do in the car, not being able to fall asleep, asking about where he was headed…

He closed his eyes and dreamed.

He knew it was a dream because he hardly ever had them, even as a child. The details were hazy, but he knew that it was cold. This wasn't the normal type of chill one might feel in early spring but the deeper, burning cold of ice.

When he woke all he could remember was of looking up at the sky, or trying to, and seeing nothing but a dense canopy of pine.

There had been nothing urgent about it, just a sort of disembodied drifting that came with being a third party observer. When he woke up he glanced about blearily for a moment, blinking slowly as he stretched out his sore muscles.

The car had finally come to a stop in front of a house with a rather expansive yard surrounded by thick trees. A low wooden gate that had seen better days surrounded the property and unlike like the rest of the country, the houses on the street weren't clustered together. Their neighbors were well within sight, but further away than he expected. There was no one out at this time of day.

"Oh, you're awake? Did you sleep well?" Hiroko commented as she climbed out of the car with a sigh of relief. Yoshihiro killed the engine and leaned back against the driver's seat with a ragged groan.

"Go and ring the bell, please?" he called out to his wife as he unbuckled his seatbelt and turned around to face Asuka, who blinked owlishly up at him. "You okay with helping out?"

He nodded. "Of course." Pausing he added, "Why?"

Yoshihiro had a pensive look about him for a moment before he shook his head and turned away, opening the door and stepping out onto the street. There wasn't much in the car itself since the movers would be around later in the day to deliver the rest of their belongings. It wasn't much, given that they had opted to leave most of it behind, but enough to warrant a delivery.

Of course they didn't need that much stuff if they were to live in another family's house. It was fairly large now that he looked at it again from the outside of the car, without the boxes to block his view.

A tall man with wire-framed glasses emerged from the house and followed Hiroko to the street, a creased smile on his face as he greeted Yoshihiro with slight bows and nostalgic exclamations. Soon a woman walked out the door and Hiroko rushed over to embrace her sister in similar tones of voice.

Asuka lingered around the car, fiddling with the zipper on his jacket. It had been years since the two families last saw each other, so it was only natural that they spend some time to reminisce.

"Asuka, come here!" Hiroko implored, waving a hand at him from the front door. He turned and nodded, trotting up to the house obediently and faltering when Hiroko pushed him forward slightly by the small of his back. "This is Asuka, Asuka, this is my sister Masako."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." He bowed neatly at the waist.

"Ah, you're so polite," the Mrs. Kuroda chuckled good-naturedly as he slowly began to rise, taken aback by her comment. It was unusual for adults to speak to kids, instead of at them. Asuka was well aware of the difference.

"Uh, thank you," was all he could offer in return. The woman smiled kindly at him and then turned to the door, gesturing them inside with definitive impatience.

The narrow entryway was brightly lit, the morning sun finally expressing itself fully. There were neat rows of shoes lined up next to each other and the floor was immaculate, not a trace of dust in sight.

In a way, it was a bit magical. Maybe it was just the sleep clouding his vision, but the house really seemed to glow. It was warm; warm in a way Asuka had forgotten houses could feel like.

"We were cleaning all day yesterday, trying to get it somewhat presentable," Mrs. Kuroda joked as she ushered them further inside. She headed over to the nearby staircase and called out, "Ren, they're here! Come on down!"

"Oh, you didn't have to do all that," Hiroko insisted. "We don't mind a little dust, right Asuka?"

He nodded helplessly, eyes fixated on the figure bounding down the staircase. Kuroda Ren – his "cousin" he supposed, although he wasn't sure if the other boy necessarily liked the relation. It might cause some unforeseen complications in school, especially since they would be living together.

For now at least, Ren didn't seem bothered by their arrival at all. The taller boy flashed Hiroko a perfunctory smile and bow and then turned to Asuka with a grin on his face.

"Good morning," he said.

"Good morning…" Asuka replied cautiously. His new cousin tilted his head in greeting and Asuka mirrored the movement instinctively, glancing up at him with curious eyes. He seemed nice enough: happy, a cheerful guy.

"I'm Ren, nice to meet you," he said quickly, his words relayed with a sense of urgency although he didn't seem pressed for time. In fact, he was still in what Asuka assumed was his sleepwear, a loose and worn t-shirt and baggy sweatpants. He pointed up the stairs as he moved around to urge Asuka forward. "Want a tour?"

Asuka hesitated, not that he was given much choice in the matter. Hiroko smiled encouragingly at him as she and her sister disappeared out the front door. The men were still outside unpacking the car. Hadn't Yoshihiro asked him to help? He considered declining Ren's offer but by the time he opened his mouth it was too late.

They were in the upstairs hallway, which was a bit dimmer than the rest of the house. The wooden floors echoed beneath his feet as they walked down the row of closed doors.

"Your room's at the end of the hall, see that door over there? It used to be the office though, so we're still in the process of moving the stuff. For now you can room with me," Ren explained. His rapid-fire manner of speech gave Asuka bit of a headache, but he followed along well enough.

"Sorry you have to go through all that trouble…" he apologized, trailing off as Ren paused at a door halfway down the hall. He pointed out the bathroom a little further down the way, his parents' bedroom, and the guest room where Hiroko and Yoshihiro were staying.

"Not at all," the older boy said with a dismissing wave. "You're family now, right?"

Asuka fell silent as they stepped into Ren's room. It was rather plain, if a bit cluttered and disorganized. There were piles of books, papers, and video games stacked on the desk and a toppling tower of CD cases near the bed. The area around the futon laid out along the opposite wall was the only clear space in the whole room.

"Yeah, that cleaning thing didn't go over so well yesterday," he admitted sheepishly as he kicked aside a pile of clothes until he made a clear path to the futon. "My mom wants to kill me right now. I'll be sure to clean the place up by tonight – and try to keep it that way."

Asuka shook his head as he picked his way through the clutter. "Don't rush on my behalf. I don't mind."

He eyed the room even as he said so, wondering just how a single person could create such a mess. Asuka didn't have nearly as many belongings as Ren seemed to possess, even after Hiroko and Yoshihiro went a little crazy buying him anything a normal kid his age would have. He never had so many things to himself before, so he had trouble deciding just what to do with it all.

He wondered if the same applied to Ren.

The other boy seemed to have caught a glimpse of his expression as he looked around the room and patted him on the shoulder in a surprising gesture of familiarity.

"We'll be living together from now on, so don't hesitate to tell us if you're displeased about something. Really, we won't mind," he reassured the younger. "I've never moved so I guess I wouldn't know, but just think of this place as home okay? You don't have to be so formal all the time."

Asuka nodded slowly, his gaze wandering to the window on the far wall. It looked out over the back of the house, at an expansive field of tall yellowish green grass with a weather beaten barn resting across the way. The high, crooked fences looked similar to the ones he saw out front, as if they were old and tired.

"Is this a farm?" he asked absently as they retreated from the room and into the dark, warm hallway.

Ren looked over his shoulder with a curious face and promptly laughed – a short, breathless laugh, but a laugh nonetheless.

"Nah, but it used to be when my grandfather was still around. He died before I was born, though. No one uses that barn anymore…oh, but Kiro's still around."

"Kiro?"

"The dog," the other boy added. Reaching the bottom of the staircase, he made a sharp turn into the living room and continued on into the kitchen. A few boxes and duffle bags were already stacked along the side of the hallway, but the adults were nowhere to be found.

Ren headed over to the counter where a small pot of dark coffee was brewing, grinning as he reached for a ceramic mug left to dry by the sink.

"Want one?" he said eagerly. "I can't ever wake up properly without coffee."

Asuka shook his head, scrunching his face up at the strong scent invading the kitchen. It was a smell – a taste – that he'd hated for as long as he could remember. It was bitter, earthy, and made him cough if he inhaled too much of it at once.

Wandering out of the kitchen as his new cousin poured a cup of coffee and leaned over the counter to stare out the window at the dilapidated barn and field outside, Asuka stopped briefly to listen to the quiet. If he concentrated he could hear the women speaking outside and the slamming of the car door, the sounds of Ren shuffling about in the kitchen.

It really was much more different from the city.

There was no clamor of trucks, cars, or neighbors. It was morning but the air was completely still, except for the scent of coffee invading the hallway.

Of course, Asuka had lived in the countryside before, but never had he moved in with such a sense of permanence – not even when he'd gone to live with the Nakajima's. For weeks on end he woke each day with his bags still packed, staring up at the ceiling expecting them to say that they'd found another placement for him because it just didn't work out after all.

He never expected to live in Hokkaido, though. During the spring it seemed like the rest of the country, if a bit greener, but Hiroko promised that its winters were an entirely different matter.

It was almost like living in another world, she'd told him.

Such a life didn't sound so bad.

Asuka looked out the window once more, watching the clouds drift on by as his parents and the Kuroda's were moving their belongings into the house. A moment later he tore his gaze away from the window and headed outside to help.

Hours later and Ren's room was still no neater than when Asuka had first arrived. The clutter, in fact, was worse after they managed to squeeze his luggage into the corner by his futon and Mrs. Kuroda was currently busy screaming at her son for his "shameful laziness".

Asuka sat alone on the couch in the living room, staring up at the ceiling with a wince as fragments of the argument floated downstairs. His parents were with Mr. Kuroda, touring the small town and purchasing whatever necessities they had left behind in their Tokyo apartment. Ren was supposed to show him around the area, including the path to school, but there had been an obvious delay.

He tilted his head back and stared up at the ceiling with a sigh. Earlier he'd told his mother that he wasn't nervous about starting school in this town, but for some reason he couldn't stop the roiling feeling of unease in his stomach. It was a completely foreign sensation to him.

School started in three days. His parents were buying any supplies he might need, so he didn't have to go shopping or anything. All Asuka had to do was get dressed and show up in homeroom, introduce himself to the class, and sit down to listen to the teachers talk. It was nothing complicated.

He pressed the back of one hand against his closed eyes firmly, breathing in and out with a concentrated effort.

"Hey, sorry about that! I'm really sorry! My mom can be such a pain sometimes, you know?" Ren said in a harsh whisper as he came barreling downstairs, bowing his head rapidly. He slid over to the couch in his socks with a look of relief and an exaggerated sigh.

Asuka moved his hand away and tried to smile at him, but it likely came out as more of a grimace judging by the other's expression.

"I'm really sorry! Do you still want to go out?" Ren said with another sharp bow. He glanced out the window at the lightly tinted skyline and switched his gaze to the clock in the living room. "We still have time before dinner's ready. I can at least show you the way to school. Tomorrow's no good for me, so…"

"Now's fine," Asuka said quickly as he stood, pushing his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "I can look around myself tomorrow."

"Are you sure?" Ren asked with concern, as if he felt almost guilty for it. Asuka was sure that wasn't the case, but couldn't be completely certain in this situation. They were supposed to be family now, after all.

He nodded as he walked over to the entryway and slipped his sneakers on, the older boy following doggedly along. Mrs. Kuroda came downstairs at that moment to see them off, warning her son to return by six o' clock for dinner.

"I'm sure Asuka-kun is tired, so don't get carried away," she said, leaning against the wall with crossed arms and a light smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. "Show him the farm some other time, okay?"

Ren nodded obediently, waving goodbye to her as he stepped out the door. "We'll be going, then!"

"Have a safe trip."

Asuka inclined his head towards Mrs. Kuroda before he shut the door, bracing himself against the sudden rush of wind that swept through the neighborhood. Truthfully, it didn't even feel like a neighborhood – more like an isolated home in the middle of the wilderness. The worn, beaten road laid quite a way's away and he hadn't seen a single car pass by since they arrived this morning.

He jogged to catch up to Ren, who had forgone the bike propped up against the side of the house in favor of walking. Thinking back, he caught the older boy's attention and nodded in the direction of the house. "I thought you didn't use this as a farm anymore."

Ren paused for a moment in thought. Then he laughed and shook his head. "Oh, no, she meant the horse farms. You must've read about it in the brochures and stuff, right? Shinhidaka's famous for two things: Nijukken Road and horses, so there are a lot of farms around here. I work at one."

"I see," Asuka nodded. "That sounds interesting."

"You don't sound too enthused," Ren laughed into the oncoming blast of air. Asuka bowed apologetically as he shivered and wrapped his arms around himself to ward against the wind. If the spring breezes here were this bitterly cold, how would he ever survive the winter? Ren patted him on the back lightly with a chuckle at his expense, although he politely left all mention of it out of his words. "It's fine, you know; that stuff's not for everyone."

"I've never really seen horses before," he admitted in an attempt to smooth the conversation over. "I've seen plenty of cows and sheep and other animals before, but never horses up close or anything."

"Well, I'll take you up there to visit one day. Should be fun," Ren said. Asuka found himself grateful for the boy's light attitude, surprisingly. Judging from past experiences, he wouldn't have known what to do if Ren was too overbearing or inquisitive. The older boy had seemed a bit energetic earlier, but perhaps he was much calmer in nature on a normal day.

"Oh, that reminds me – you should get your parents to buy you a bike. Or maybe they're already getting one today," Ren exclaimed. He motioned towards the empty expanse of road in front of them as he spoke. "As you can see, there's not much around here. It'll take a while if you just walk everywhere and there's not much in terms of public transportation all the way out here."

Asuka nodded, "I know. I've lived in the countryside before."

"Wait, but the Nakajima's – " Ren's words came to a startling halt for a moment before he began speaking rapidly again. "Oh, that's right, um, you're adopted right?"

"Yes," he said agreeably. The first signs of a house since they had started walking began to appear in the form of a worn, chipped fence and a car parked alongside the road. "I've been living with Hiroko-san and Yoshihiro-san for over two years now, though. It's been a bit since I lived in the countryside."

"I guess I don't have to tell you, then," Ren was saying as they rounded a corner and a few cars passed them on the road, "that it can get pretty boring out here quickly. In that case, it's probably for the best that you don't see all of it at once."

"It's okay. It's pretty here," Asuka said idly as the made their way down a long main road. They'd passed farmland and residential houses clustered together like a normal neighborhood, as well as a few people Ren apparently knew quite well. He spent most of the time looking around him, memorizing the landscape that stretched out before his eyes.

"As you can see, this road's pretty long. Eventually you'll reach Shizunai High if you go far enough; just don't end up in the junior high school! See why you need a bike?" Ren rambled as they came to a slow stop. He abruptly turned around to head back home, even though they'd traveled rather far already. "It'll be time for dinner soon. Mom will get angry if I don't bring you back in time, so let's head home, okay?"

"Okay…" Asuka mumbled. His words were carried off on the wind, but he trotted after Ren regardless. The taller boy's back was leading him and he glanced over his shoulder every now and again, flashing Asuka grins and smiles as he chattered.

Asuka lowered his head and watched the ground disappear beneath his feet, the weeds and grass and gravel bending under the soles of his shoes. Somehow, he felt like he'd done this before. There were only a handful of people who had ever taken the time to patiently show him around or asked so many questions without reserve, without caring whether or not he answered.

Somehow, he felt as if nothing had really changed between now and last year.

It was as if that incident of eight months ago was a distant memory when it had previously been a fresh, exposed wound that refused to scab over. It had crept upon him when he was preparing for the move and it was only now that he noticed it had happened at all.

Asuka wasn't sure he was happy about that.

This is a reboot of the first version of The Tempest, since I liked this location better and finally found a solid plot to follow. I couldn't work it into the summary, but rest assured bits of the original still come into play.

Also, due to everyone's encouragement I'm creating my own personas based off Chinese mythology. The shadows, however, may end up being based off Japanese mythology. This town (Shinhidaka) really exists in Hokkaido, so I'm trying to use its map.