Under the Skin
By TwinEnigma
Scroll 1: Mysterious
Mama smiled as she prepared bento for her children, aware of the amber eyes that followed her every movement. A month had passed since the 'well incident' and the Higurashi household had once again fallen into a normal routine. Of course, changes had been made to accommodate for their guest, but they were not so much as to fundamentally transform the comfortable rhythm of things.
The police hadn't been able to tell them who had broken into the well house that night, nor how their guest had gotten there. It had been a general consensus that the vandals had taken some of the more valuable shrine relics and were attempting to hide them in the well for later retrieval when their guest had literally stumbled on to them. Now and again, the detectives would call, but their reports were always the same, holding no more answers than they had before.
Jii-chan was relieved when it was determined that there had been minimal damage to the ancient well; the cover was the only thing broken and it was easily replaced. The relics that the vandals had stashed at the bottom of the well were also unharmed, though they were splattered with blood. They, along with the white pelt and silk clothing, were only able to be cleaned after the police had taken samples of the blood and properly photographed each item.
This, naturally, brought her thoughts to their guest, 'Isshou.'
Pale-skinned and startlingly intelligent for his age, Isshou was something of a mystery. He appeared to be younger than Souta by a year or two, although no one knew for certain exactly how old he really was. In fact, they could not even be certain that Isshou was his real name, for the police had yet to find records of missing children fitting his description. But all this was no matter to Mama, who had taken to the small boy from the very moment she'd seen him lying injured at the bottom of the well.
She felt a gentle tug on her apron and looked down into his amber eyes with a gentle smile. "Isshou, why don't you go fetch Kagome? She'll be late for school if she doesn't hurry up."
He didn't answer, merely blinking languidly before finally nodding slowly.
Mama gave him a gentle pat on the head and watched as he scampered off towards the stairs. She didn't mind these periods of silence from him, for they didn't last very long. During these times, it almost seemed like he was someone else entirely and then, suddenly, he would be laughing and running around like any other child his age.
"ISSHOU, YOU LITTLE PERVERT! GET OUT OF HERE!" Kagome's angry shout was immediately punctuated by the slamming of a door and the sound of hastily fleeing footsteps.
Souta laughed from the living room as Isshou bolted by; he knew full well what it was like to be facing the wrath of his older sister and was obviously glad to not be on the receiving end of it this time.
Mama gave her son a pointed glare and Souta instantly silenced, looking quite sheepish. It was her implicit instruction to both of her children that they be on their best behavior with their guest, as he had been through a very tough experience. That meant that she would tolerate absolutely no giggling from her children at Isshou's accidental misfortunes in adjusting to life in her somewhat quirky household. Her daughter's reaction could be excused: she had much the same reaction whenever Souta happened to walk in on her, as often happened when Kagome was running late in the morning.
Speaking of her daughter, Kagome was currently hopping down the stairs, tugging on a sock with one hand and frantically chanting, "Late, late, late, late!"
"Your bento, dear," Mama smiled, holding out the box.
Kagome was a blur as she ran into the kitchen, grabbing the bento, deftly scooping up her knapsack and bolting for the door. "Thanksmom! Iloveyoubye!"
"Don't forget your shoes!" Mama called after her. "Souta, you should get going too."
Souta gave her a confused look. "What about Isshou, Mama? Isn't he coming to school today?"
"Not today, dear," Mama replied, pressing the second bento into her son's hands. "Now, run along! Shoo!"
"Yes, Mama," Souta sighed, shuffling off towards the door.
After some careful consideration, Mama had decided to enroll Isshou in the same school as Souta. It would not do to neglect his education indefinitely while the authorities looked for his family and, at the very least, school would provide him with some sort of structure. That and Isshou would have completely exhausted Jii-chan's supply of legends in a matter of months, for it seemed that Isshou was deeply fond of legends about youkai and would ask for them at any given opportunity.
Isshou tugged on her apron again and plainly said, "You're taking me to see the social workers today, aren't you?"
"Yes," she sighed.
He gave a stubborn pout. "I don't like them. They ask stupid questions."
"Isshou, they're just trying to help you," Mama explained, patiently. "That's why they ask you all those questions, to help."
His sullen expression didn't change.
Mama rolled her eyes and sighed again, gently pulling him into a hug. "Oh, come now. We'll go to the park on the way back and then, tonight, I'll make steak as a treat."
Isshou's amber eyes glowed as a broad grin spread across his face.
Bless that boy, he couldn't resist steak and Mama knew it.
"Isshou, I need you to tell me about your parents," the social worker said, looking a bit frustrated. He was called Hieda, one of the two social workers assigned to Isshou's case. "You've got to help us if we're going to help you."
The little boy shrugged absently and continued drawing with his crayons.
Behind a pane of two-way mirrored glass, Mama watched the interview with a somber face. Hieda's partner, Mizuhara, and a detective stood next to her, their eyes fixed on the boy sitting at the table.
"We're not going to get very far if he keeps this up," the detective sighed, putting his hands on his hips. "Has he mentioned anything, Higurashi-san? Anything at all?"
Mama raised her fingers to the glass and gave a heavy sigh. "I don't know what to tell you, Kusanagi-san. Most of the time, Isshou seems perfectly fine, but there are times when I have to wonder. He becomes quiet, withdrawn... almost like another person entirely."
"Does there seem to be something that sets off these episodes? An image on the TV?" the detective offered. "Maybe something someone said?"
The woman shook her head slowly. "I'm sorry, but I can't think of anything. One minute, he's perfectly fine and the next..." she trailed off, gesturing to the small boy other side of the glass.
Isshou stared directly at them, almost as though he could see through the reflective side of the glass. He blinked once, slowly, and then turned away.
Mizuhara shivered unconsciously and took a step back from the glass. "Does he always do that?" she asked, looking slightly shaken.
"Yes," Mama replied, "Every so often."
Isshou picked up a crayon and reached for a new sheet of paper. He paused for a moment and then began to draw again.
"Isshou, can you tell me about this drawing?" Hieda asked gently. He held the discarded drawing out towards the boy. "Is this your home?"
The boy looked up, seemingly disinterested, and went back to his new drawing. "That is the shrine, where I live now, and they are the Higurashi family," he said in a rather flat, dismissive tone. "I have no home."
Mama was momentarily taken aback by that statement, but something deep in her gut told her that this wasn't the boy she knew speaking.
"Why don't you have a home? Did something happen?" Hieda prodded, hoping to prompt a response.
Isshou ignored him, picked up the red crayon and began scribbling intently.
"Was someone hurt? Is that why you don't want to talk about it?" the social worker pressed.
"This is it," the detective – Kusanagi – whispered, his eyes riveted on the boy in the next room. "Give us something we can work with, kid."
The boy didn't answer the social worker's question, but his face and body language spoke for him: he was clearly getting upset.
Hieda leaned forward in his chair and tapped his finger against the drawing the boy was working on. "Who are you drawing now?"
For a moment, there was a very oppressive silence.
"This is chichi-ue," Isshou said finally, pointing to a tall stick figure on the right. Suddenly, he drew a swift red line through the figure. "He is dead."
It was strange to hear the small boy speaking with such complete impassiveness and it was only more confusing that he chose to refer to his father with a very formal archaic honorific.
"This is haha-ue," the boy continued, indicating the next figure. Again, he drew a line through it. "She is dead."
"What about this last one? Is he your onii-san?" Hieda asked.
Isshou paused, staring intently at the last figure he'd drawn, and briefly looked at his hands, scowling. He shook his head, schooling his face once more, and put down the crayon. "Only half," he said quietly. "And he is neither dead nor alive."
"What!" Kusanagi blurted, perfectly capturing the thoughts of the two flummoxed women beside him.
Hieda looked up at the glass for a moment and then returned his attention to the boy. "What do you mean by that, Isshou?"
"He's going to be asleep forever," Isshou replied. "Can I go now?"
Inwardly, Mama breathed a sigh of relief: the Isshou she had come to know had returned.
Once again, the social worker looked to the glass and stood. "I'm just going to go check on something and then Higurashi-san can take you home, ok?"
Isshou shrugged and pulled over a new sheet of paper. He didn't look up when Hieda left the room.
"Did he just tell us that his brother is in a coma?" Kusanagi asked, looking at the two social workers for confirmation; they nodded in the affirmative.
"Half-brother," Mama corrected and earned herself a pointed glare from the detective. Mizuhara merely seemed slightly amused.
At this, Hieda gave a half smile and shook his head. "An important distinction to remember, Kusanagi-san. He and his brother might not share the same surname."
The detective snorted, looking thoroughly annoyed with the social worker.
"You'll be looking for an older boy, possibly a teenager," Hieda added. "He'll have identical coloring to Isshou. The parents are deceased and, judging by his reaction, there is a strong possibility that he saw it happen."
Mama shifted uncomfortably on her feet and peered through the mirror at the small boy. She remembered when her husband died, how it affected Kagome, and her heart could not help but worry for Isshou, who had lost both parents. He was so young, only a few years older than Kagome had been when her father died. It had been so difficult for Kagome to recover from the loss of her father and it made Mama wonder how Isshou would fare, having lost both parents.
Isshou looked up at the glass again and smiled.
His smile reassured her and, with a renewed heart, Mama turned away from the two-way mirror. "Excuse me, Kusanagi-san... Hieda-san, Mizuhara-san... If you're done, may I fetch Isshou? It's almost time for lunch."
The detective nodded, dismissing her with a wave of his hand. "We're done here for now, Higurashi-san."
"Thank you," Mama said, bowing slightly, and started for the door to the next room.
Mizuhara piped up then: "Higurashi-san, you should probably consider taking Isshou to a psychiatrist in the future. These quiet episodes of his are of some concern."
"I will consider it," Mama replied, bowing once again.
Isshou expertly flipped the soccer ball up into the air, just as Souta had showed him how to, and bounced it off his knee. Bouncing it higher, he imitated something he'd seen one of the older boys do and used his head to knock the ball away from him. It hit the ground, bounced a few times and rolled into a bush.
Biting his lip, the small boy looked over his shoulder to the nearby park bench where Higurashi kaa-san was sitting. "It went into the bush," he pouted.
"I saw. Now, it can't have gone very far," the kind woman reasoned, smiling.
Isshou gave her a confused stare. "But who will protect you if I go?"
"Don't worry, Isshou," she said, still smiling. "I will keep careful watch until you return."
He nodded, assured, and ran off towards the bush. Getting down on his hands and knees, the small boy crawled under the leafy canopy. The ball was resting innocently not more than an arm's length in front of him. He smiled in triumph and reached for it, when a low, rumbling growl stopped him in mid-reach.
Behind the ball was the cement base of the iron park fence and, beyond the iron bars, a snarling black and brown dog bared its teeth at him.
Isshou didn't move at first, his amber eyes locking on the dark brown eyes of the angry dog. Something was painfully moving under his skin, setting his veins on fire. He drew his other hand up slowly, fingers arced in what he somehow knew was an attack position.
The dog's growl turned into an apologetic whine as it quickly stepped back from the fence and rolled onto its back. Sorry, sorry, it seemed to be saying.
Isshou smiled then, letting his hand fall, and crawled forward into the small clear space between the bush and the fence. He stood and reached through the fence, offering out the palm of his hand to the dog, which rolled onto its feet and eagerly sniffed the proffered hand.
Aniki-ue, aniki-ue, it woofed happily, rubbing its big head into his small hand.
"Nice doggie," the little boy said delightedly, gently scratching behind the dog's floppy black ears. The soccer ball lay next to his feet, temporarily forgotten.
"So, who is your new friend, Isshou?" the calm voice of Higurashi kaa-san reached out from behind him.
Isshou looked back to see the kind woman smiling at him from the other side of the bush. "This is Kimi," he explained, turning back to continue petting the dog.
"She's very pretty," Higurashi kaa-san said, matter-of-factly.
He nodded absently, scratching the contented dog under the chin. The burning in his veins had now completely cooled, settling back into perfect stillness beneath his skin.
However, if anyone looked closely enough, they would have been able to make out the faint traces of markings on his face.
AN: Back from the land of winter break-y goodness! Now, if only I can make up my mind about which is more painful, learning a language or precalc? Ok, notes... Isshou (as a noun) means either 'general' or 'laugh/smile'. I think it should be pretty obvious who he is by the end of this chapter. Inuyasha is mentioned briefly in this chapter. The dog at the end, Kimi, recognizes him for what he is, that's for certain! Next chapter: Sealed. Review!
A note on aniki-ue: it means 'my brother, above me' and denotes great respect. Rather appropriate of Kimi, no?