Evidence 9: The Fog
I would like to apologize.
This chapter was actually finished in April of 2017. It is now February of 2018, 5.5 years after the story was first published, and 2.5 years since it was last updated. The series it parodies has been over for so long that its volumes are being republished. Despite my promises, this story was put to the wayside and was left unfinished. This chapter and the next took two years to write. But this story was never forgotten, and in a way, it haunted me: I had confused myself, and lost my way. It would take a great sacrifice of my time and energy to organize its story and keep it focused. In December of 2017, I made a decision, and over the past two months I have written the entire remainder of the story.
Here is chapter 9. Every subsequent chapter will be posted once a week, on Sundays, until it is finished. I hope you will complete this journey with me.
"So Dad's gone again?" Tsuna asked, pulling up a chair. Breakfast looked delicious, and was already laid out (courtesy of Tsuna's oversleeping habit). Miso soup, rice, omelettes, and salad.
"He left late last night, after you two went to bed," Nana answered with a smile. "Sorry we didn't tell you beforehand, you know how he likes to be dramatic."
"Do you know when he'll be back?" Fuuta mumbled around a mouthful of rice and egg. Tsuna wiped his mouth. He'd get his uniform dirty, after all.
"He should be back as early as next week!" came the melodic reply. Nana seemed quite happy about the unusually short deployment.
Fuuta hummed happily before turning to his brother. "Are we still going out today? It's really cloudy…"
Tsuna looked outside the window, but swallowed before responding. "It's supposed to lighten up… I think. The weather report's been saying sunny until today. But yeah, so long as it isn't raining, we're probably going to go."
"Okay!" Fuuta chirped, kicking his legs. "Yaaaay, it's a beach, we're going to the beach~"
The elder brother laughed, glad to see his kid brother so excited. "Better finish your food; if you miss the train you'll be late to school, and then you might get held over."
Nana chuckled, sitting down for her own meal as Fuuta began scarfing. "Not too fast now- if you choke you might not make it at all. Tsu-kun, you should eat too before your food gets cold."
As Tsuna poured himself another glass of barley tea, Fuuta grabbed his ransel at the front door and sat down to tie his shoes. "I'm going out now!" he called cheerfully. "Tsuna-nii, you'll come pick me up at the station, right?"
"You can count on it!" Tsuna called back, hearing the door shut immediately after.
"And what are you doing until going out?" Nana asked while her son took a few chugs.
With a contented exhale, Tsuna put down his glass. "I was going to go check on Gokudera-kun and Kyouya-san," he said, pausing to wipe his mouth on the back of his hand. "And probably also Kyoko-chan's brother. They've all been sick lately and I haven't gotten a chance to visit. Ah, Yamamoto was going to help me clean my room out; we might do that today instead of tomorrow."
Nana seemed cheerful. "I'm so proud of you this year," she hummed, eyes smiling. "You're learning to take care of yourself. You'll be 13 before you know it! Not too long ago it was the age of adulthood, after all."
Tsuna smiled, bashful, and picked at his cheek. "Ehehe… I'm glad to make you proud, Mom. It's thanks to my friends." Getting up, he dropped his plates in the sink before running upstairs. Not a minute later he was back down, tugging his shoes on. "I'm heading out!" he called.
"Stay safe! And don't forget to pick Fuuta up!"
"Will do!"
The door slammed shut.
…
The door slid open, quiet.
"It's surprisingly dark in here," Tsuna hummed, a light skip in his step as he and Yamamoto walked towards the bed nearest the window. The curtains were half-drawn. "How are you feeling, Gokudera-kun?"
"Tenth!" Gokudera gasped, jolting up quickly before coughing and leaning back again. "And Yamamoto, too. What are you doing here?" Tsuna couldn't help but think he looked chained, with a respirator tube passing under his nose. His voice, too, didn't sound, but more… felt strained, tired.
"Visiting you, of course," Yamamoto laughed. "We brought you some gifts."
As Yamamoto set about arranging the small akabeko and Buddha statue on the table next to two get-well cards, Tsuna took a chair and pulled up next to Gokudera's bedside. "Sorry we can't stay long. I'm glad to see you though; are you doing any better?"
"O- of course, Tenth," the Italian smiled, eyes warm. To Tsuna, it looked like he might cry. "Your presence is enough to heal me. I'll definitely get better, and then we can all go to the park again. This time, without getting separated."
"I'm glad," Tsuna smiled. "Ah, speaking of which, the dream journal has been helping me a lot. Do you want to see?" Without waiting for an answer, he pulled the book out of his jacket pocket, opened to a page, and handed it to Gokudera.
He pretended not to have noticed the swirling letters. I will see this later.
…
Ring, ring. Ring, ring. Ring, ring. Ring- "Ah, Kyouya-san? It's Sawada Tsunayoshi- sorry to bother you, but do you think you could let me in? I'm in front of the condo." He glanced to the mail boxes on the side of the door, scanning for the room number. 108 – Hibari Kyouya.
"…Tsunayoshi? Alright. Hold on a minute."
It did not take long until there was a buzzing sound, and Tsuna heard the lock click open. He let himself in, making his way down the hall to Kyouya's apartment. When he knocked, he only barely heard the feeble "it's unlocked" from inside.
It was his first time in Kyouya's apartment, or even in the building; the hospital was far to the northern end of town, while the complex was a little less than a kilometer to the east of Tsuna's house, near the center. Even so, the place felt familiar, and it smelt like Kyouya as well as looked like him. Boxes were tucked in the corners of the otherwise nearly-empty rooms, but neatly stacked. As he walked farther in, he found Kyouya sitting up in a futon on the tatami floor of the back room.
"… Tsunayoshi," Kyouya said, raising a hand as Tsuna knelt down beside him. His voice, unlike Gokudera's, was choked and hoarse.
Tsuna leaned down, allowing his friend's hand to run its gentle course through his hair. "It's nice to see you again," he smiled, though timidly. It was oddly quiet; the curtains were drawn over the balcony doors, and the air conditioner was off. "Are you taking care of yourself?"
"As best I can," the older boy grunted, leaning forward to rest his arms and chin on his knees. Behind his back he had stacked several heavy pillows for support. "It's foggy today, isn't it?"
"Yeah, actually. It was cloudy earlier but the fog's starting to roll in, so it's getting a bit chilly."
"Hm. Well, you should get going. Be careful today; when it's f-" A bout of coughing struck, and Tsuna rushed to help his friend lean back again. Kyouya continued as though he had not stopped. "When it's foggy, it's easy to become careless."
Tsuna smiled wryly, pulling something out of his pocket. "It's alright, Kyouya-san," he said, calmly. "I have your charm with me. So, I'll be safe from spirits."
The raven's mouth quirked into a half-smile, and he closed his eyes. "That's fortunate."
"Alright, I'll be going now. I'm glad I got to speak with you."
"It's good you came. I'll be leaving tonight to go back for a bit, so I'll see you another time."
"Good night, Kyouya-san."
"Set the door to lock on your way out."
The door clicked shut.
…
Kyoko opened the door, smiling. "Tsuna-kun! Weren't we leaving later?"
Tsuna smiled bashfully, picking at his cheek. "Ah, yeah, but I wanted to check on your brother, since he's been sick."
"Sure!" Kyoko laughed, opening the door wider.
"Kyoko, who is it?" a voice called from the kitchen.
Tsuna jolted. "Ah, I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi, I'm one of Kyoko-chan's classmates. Th- thank you for letting me in."
"Tsuna-kun's just here to visit Onii-chan, Papa."
There was a clanging sound before rushing water. "My hands are full right now, but you're free to stay for lunch, Sawada-kun!"
"Thank you very much, Kyoko-chan's dad!" Tsuna called back as the two children headed upstairs.
…
"Everyone seems to be doing better," Tsuna said, sitting with his mom in front of the news. "Kyoko-chan's brother won't stay down, but I had lunch with them. It was nice. He never really slept well, I remember, but I think even he's trying to recover."
"I'm glad you got to talk to everyone today," Nana smiled, quiet. The doorbell rang.
"Oh, that's probably Yamamoto," Tsuna said, getting up.
Nana continued watching the news as her son went to get the door.
"A thick fog has rolled into the area. Everyone is urged to exercise caution. Due to the low visibility today, trains running into and out of the Namimori area have been cancelled until further notice. Buses and cars may continue running, but the speed limit will be lowered by 15 kilometers per hour."
…
Wide eyes, a shortness of breath.
"Fuuta? What's wrong?"
Another boy in a uniform next to Fuuta looked concerned. They were standing on the train platform, where a chime signaled the end of an announcement. "I- I have to get home!" Fuuta stammered, beginning to sweat. "I made- I made a promise to Tsuna-nii. Something's going to happen if I can't get home!"
The other boy tugged at Fuuta's sleeve, but it was like pulling on stone. "C'mon, let's go catch a bus. Get a hold of yourself!"
…
"Yamamoto, can you get the- Huh?" Tsuna was surprised to hear his phone ring. A payphone? "Hello?"
"Tsuna-nii!"
"Fuuta!" The momentary surprise quickly became concern. "What's wrong?"
"Tsuna-nii, the trains aren't running. Mitsuru-kun and I are taking buses back, but it's going to take an extra thirty minutes, maybe an hour. You can't wait for me at the station, okay!?"
"Okay, I won't, I won't. But why are you so worried?"
"Something bad's going to happen if I can't get home! I can't tell you what, but- but something!"
Tsuna suddenly felt a knot wrenching in his stomach. He swallowed. There was a whispering in his ear.
"So be careful, okay? We'll be back as soon as we can."
"Alright, stay safe. You and Fujimori-kun look out for each other, okay? Stay together."
"We will!"
As Tsuna paused, hearing the call end, Yamamoto called out to him. "Hey… everything alright?"
The brunet didn't seem to hear, simply staring into space with the phone still held up to his ear.
Amazing, isn't it? His power. Of all those we've seen, he's the only P2.
Let him go! Fuuta has nothing to do with this!
'Snap out of it!'
Hearing a stern voice, so close, Tsuna jolted back to reality. The phone in his hand, the clutter on the floor, the friend leaning close to his face.
"Oh, good, you're back," Yamamoto sighed. "You okay? We can take a break, you know."
"N- no, it's fine," Tsuna stammered. "There's not much left; we can finish up and then take a break."
…
After Yamamoto had left, Tsuna plopped down on his bed. There was still some time until Fuuta would be able to get to the bus stop at the edge of town.
"… Who are you?" he asked to the air.
Silence.
"You can hear me, can't you? You're here, with me."
'Yes… I have always been here.'
"Who are you?"
'We are kindred spirits, you and I.' The voice chuckled. 'Were you expecting someone more regal?'
Tsuna laid back and closed his eyes. From the darkness of his eyelids, a face floated forward into view. He recognized it as looking similar to his, but older; perhaps between twenty-five and thirty-five, he couldn't quite tell. This other person, as it was, was blond, with the same untamable wild hair. His eyes were a deep, sunset orange, but soft and warm to look at. As the man walked forward, his clothing came into view: faded blue-striped pajamas, aged thinner than they already were. His feet were bare, and made no noise.
'My name is Giotto,' the man smiled, placing a hand near his breast, and bowing his head once. 'I am one of your ancestors, as it were.'
"You've been in my dreams," Tsuna said, keeping his eyes closed. For once, he felt peaceful and rested. "Why is that?"
'The truth is, I am in need of your help,' Giotto said, hand still raised, but chin now lowered, eyes closed. 'Before I died, I was separated from someone… someone who is very important to me. But because of that, I have yet to return properly to the cycle. Though you are my reincarnation, my memories were not laid to rest.' He lifted his face and laughed a bit. 'Though selfish, I would like to meet him again. Would you allow me that happiness?'
Tsuna's eyes snapped open, but the faint vision of Giotto remained in his mind. He sat up. "O- of course!" he stammered. He couldn't even begin to imagine a pain that could keep him from returning to the cycle of reincarnation. "I'd like to do whatever I can to help."
Giotto's face became a warm smile, like that of a proud father. 'Even just your kindness fills me with hope and joy,' he replied. 'I will do whatever I can to aid you, as well.'
Tsuna smiled. He truly wanted to help lay his ancestor to rest; the elderly deserved that much, at least. For now, though, he needed to go pick up his brother. "We should head out now; Fuuta should be almost there," he said aloud.
…
As Tsuna jogged uphill towards to the northern bus stop, he rubbed his arms. Was it usually this cold when it was foggy? Perhaps the recent chill was why the sakura trees were blooming again; it was just so strange.
Taking a left, he jogged in place while waiting for a bicycle to pass. Now that I think about it, I think I've seen that happen before, he thought. The trees… it must've been fall a number of years ago…. As the bus stop came into view, he slowed to a walk, panting. …Oh.
He stopped, leaning on his knees. Memories that he had ignored for so long, of his father gone for the night, or for days. The spiriting.
'What are you thinking about?' Giotto's soft voice interrupted.
"When I was little, there were a couple years in a row where kids went missing from Namimori," Tsuna explained. "And only one of them was ever found. The first was when I was four- nope, three, sorry; I was about to become four, and he was a first year at Nami-Chuu. The second, I was almost five, and he was a… fifth grader at Namimori Elementary. And then the third went missing on my sixth birthday: Kyoko-chan's big brother. But he came back a year later, and right around that time, the cherry blossoms started blooming out-of-season like they are now. But it's June right now, and back then, it was October."
'That sounds… unnatural.'
"Right? I used to get scared that- oh, the bus is here."
As the bus rolled up, Tsuna took a step back, and there was a large hiss of air as the bus stopped and the doors opened.
"Tsuna-nii!" Fuuta shouted, bouncing off the steps towards him after beeping his bus card. "I was so worried!"
Tsuna caught his little brother deftly, spinning him around. "I was worried about you, too!" he smiled, ruffling the small boy's hair. Other passengers were getting off the bus, and he moved backwards, gesturing at Fuuta's friend to join them. He accidentally caught the eyes of the gakuran-clad middle-schooler in front of Mitsuru, and they exchanged a light smile and a short wave, an acknowledgement of acquaintances. "Are you okay, Fujimori-kun?"
Mitsuru Fujimori nodded shyly, but took the hand that was offered to him.
"C'mon, let's get you both home."
…
"Really?" Haru almost shrieked, concerned filling her voice. "Oh… maybe we really shouldn't go out today, then…."
"Yeah…" Tsuna replied sadly. "The beach is still in Namimori, so we could get there, but I'm just worried that we wouldn't be able to get back…. Maybe we should try next week?"
"That sounds alright to me," Haru said, calming down. "Then I'll let everyone know! Please take good care of Fuuta-kun for me, and stay safe, Tsuna-kun!"
"You too!" he said, before cutting the call, replacing the transceiver on the shelf in the living room.
Fuuta hugged his brother's waist, leaning his head on his side. "Did you have to cancel because of me?" he asked, voice tinged with worry.
Tsuna smiled and patted Fuuta's head. "No, of course not," he said, "We were talking about it earlier, but the fog's only getting thicker, so it's an issue."
At that, Fuuta perked up a bit, lifting his face to look into Tsuna's eyes earnestly. "No it's not," he insisted. "It seems like it, but it's not. It's really thick right around the edge of town, across the mountains and out by the beach, but then it's actually really sunny outside and it's only cloudy here, not foggy."
Tsuna glanced out the window. "Huh… Now that you mention it, that's true. I guess you could tell from out in the city, huh."
Fuuta mumbled his agreement, hugging Tsuna again. The elder brother smiled, patting the mousy brown hair again, and heading over to the couch. "C'mon, I'll make us something to drink. It's a little cold; do you want tea, or hot chocolate?"
…
"Do I have to?" Fuuta pleaded, doing his best to make an adorable face, one that he knew from experience that his brother would yield do.
Tsuna, for his part, did his best to resist. "You have to. Really," he said, ruffling Fuuta's hair, then patting the fox in his arms. "My stuff isn't all organized yet, so I want to keep it where it is as much as I can before I go to bed. So you have to sleep in your own room. Let's go wash our hands."
Fuuta blew a raspberry, but followed along anyway. "You said Takeshi-nii and you did that today," he said, handing Tsuna the fox so he could wash his own hands. "You're the most suspicious big brother in the world, right now."
Fuuta had seen through the ruse, but Tsuna had prepared himself for such a thing. In actuality, he just wanted to spend the night alone so he could try and understand Giotto more. "Do you really want to sleep in the same room as a suspicious person?" he teased. "If you're not careful, I might… tickle you in your sleep!"
As Tsuna made towards his brother with spider-fingers at the ready, Fuuta shrieked comically and ducked under Tsuna's arm, dashing out the bathroom door and down the stairs. Tsuna smiled to himself. That should settle that matter, he thought.
…
Stomach full of delicious udon, Tsuna flopped backwards onto his bed. He felt quite ready for bed after the hectic day. All that was left was to wait for the bath to warm and brush his teeth, really. "Which one is your friend?" he asked, remembering the blurred colors he had always seen in his dreams. "Is he… the red one? He seems very thoughtful."
'He is another friend of mine,' Giotto answered, seeming to sit next to him on the bed. 'My oldest friend, in fact. He is, as you say, thoughtful, but he is not the one I mean.'
"Oh. Hmm…" Tsuna thought some more. "What about the one in white?" he asked. This one reminds me of Yamamoto. "He seems like a very comforting person."
'He is a wonderful friend. We met by chance when I first came to this country, and he welcomed my family and I. But he is not the one I mean.'
Tsuna frowned in concentration. He couldn't remember too many separate people… they almost had seemed like one brightly lit mass, swirling and distorted and noisy. "Is he… the one in black?"
'He does wear black, but he is not the one you are thinking of.'
Tsuna sighed. That description sounded familiar, but he honest-to-God could not remember anything about such a person. He glanced at the clock. Nearly midnight already…? Weird; I'm not tired yet.
Getting up, he tip-toed out into the hall. The house was already dark, but he could see the crack of light beneath his parents' bedroom door. A soft murmur let him know that his mother was speaking on the phone, probably with her husband. He winced as a stair creaked beneath his feet. 'Where are you going?'
"Just a quick breath of fresh air," Tsuna whispered. "I'm going out the front door, though, so I don't wake Fuuta if he's asleep."
…
Tsuna panted, shivering as the chill air met his heated neck and cold pavement pricked his bare feet.
Only moments ago, or so it had seemed, he had been smelling the night air, when something caught his attention out by the intersection. Following behind, he had quickly recognized it as the supposedly bedridden Hibari. Try as he might to follow, Hibari seemed to float ever forward, walking faster than Tsuna could sprint. (Granted, he was never great at sprinting. But still…) Hibari had held his body as though pained, but determined, and yet the speed at which he plodded was fast, too fast for his tail to keep up.
Tsuna had lost Hibari, as expected, several street corners back, but he had recognized the route as the one they had oft taken to school. He had stopped, both to catch his breath and in surprise at the open gate. The sakura petals tickled his nose as the breeze passed him by, and he glanced left to see the black of Hibari's silhouette against a soft light among the trees. He gasped, running forward as his friend took a step.
'Follow him. Please.'
"Wait, come back!"
Time seemed to slow. Tsuna tripped in his haste, Hibari turned just in time for him to see those telltale ice-blue eyes widen…
They collided, crashing forward into the soft light. Suddenly it was very dark. Hands grappled for Tsuna, catching first his back, rapidly slipping down his arms before one found purchase around his wrist. He felt an immense pressure assaulting him on all sides, but tried to grip back. Kyouya was trying to say something. His ears popped. His arm seemed like it might rip out of the socket. Their fingers slipped away. He may have screamed, but it was lost. There was a ringing in his ears as he felt himself blown away.
When I was very little, he thought, a typhoon came right by the beach. I was very scared, and Mom and Dad let me sleep with them. But our house was fine, because Dad packed sandbags by the doors, and Mom taped all the windows in case any broke. We were rained in, but inside, it was warm and dry.
Feeling fatigue wash over him, he closed his eyes. Back then, some of the trees outside his house had split.
Ah, I might die here. No one will know, and I'll be another spiriting.
He felt weightless, a rag doll in the wind.
I'm sorry Fuuta, I wasn't careful enough.
Without warning, the breath was knocked out of him. He heard a girl's scream, and the falling of broken wood, and then felt something wet ran down his back. A dark fog enveloped him as a door opened.
