Disclaimer: PoT isn't mine. And that's probably better. :P
Warnings: Blood and gore in general, but none for this chapter.
Reviews: Thank you very, very much to everybody who left a review - and also to everybody else reading. It means a lot knowing that other people too the strange ideas my brain cooks up. A big thank you to lemon-and-chain, Koshi Sekisen, Scarlette Shizuru, Cielo Tierra and Mesonoxian. You guys are awesome! I apologize for not writing detailed replies this time around, but time is currently a bit short on my end (not to mention the shaky connection that is screwing the format, but I hope it remains legible), but I will get back to you next time. :)
Thirteen
Tezuka looked up in surprise at his grandfather's intervention. He had expected facing an inquisition squad made up of his mother and grandfather, rather than one of them deciding the matter had to be left alone.
His mother frowned unhappily and eyed Kunikazu.
His grandfather's expression was grim, and Tezuka could feel dread coiling in his stomach. Had the Nakayamas contacted him? Had they told him the truth, an altered version or something that made him and Fuji appear insane?
Were there other bad news?
"I see," his mother said after a moment. Tezuka swallowed and his chest tightened as she stood up and started walking away. Only when she was already out of the door, she stopped. Without turning around she added: "Whatever is going on, please try to get it settled soon."
Tezuka pressed his lips together and found he couldn't watch her leave. Instead he gazed out of the window and found the sky outside overcast again, clouds as white as the snow on the ground. Hadn't it been for dark browns and greens of the frozen vegetation in their backyard, he might have not been able to tell sky and ground apart.
Everything looked so cold, desolate; much like he felt. He wanted to tell his mother everything – because even though his mother pretend to be angry, he could see that it hurt her not to know what was going on. And any lie told now would further the harm.
His grandfather sighed gravely and the noise tore Tezuka from his contemplations.
"Your mother is right," Kunikazu said, "We ought to get this over as soon as possible. Finish your breakfast and then come to my study."
Glancing down at his food, Tezuka knew he wouldn't be able to eat much more right now. Not with the new burdens on his heart weighting him down. Still, he nodded obediently and picked up his chopsticks again.
A dull pain ran through his arm and Tezuka gritted his teeth. He had changed the bandages this morning, but the wound was far from healing and he could only pray it hadn't gotten infected already. The memory of cold metal touching his skin and effortlessly cutting through into flesh and muscle beneath made him queasy.
"You know," his grandfather added thoughtfully, "maybe you should bring Fuji-kun along. Only if he's awake and feeling better, of course, but I think he should be there. This concerns both of you after all."
Tezuka lifted his head in time to see his grandfather glance away. There had been an odd, flat tone in his voice he didn't recognize, but when Kunikazu turned around, his expression was as collected and serious as ever.
"I'll be waiting for you."
And with that Tezuka was left to a breakfast he could not eat.
Fuji was conscious when Tezuka came back to his room, and leafing through one of Tezuka's older books. With the room lit in a soft golden light, for a moment everything that had happened appeared like a lie. The books, the comfortable temperature, the familiar furniture – how could it have been that just one day ago they had been standing at death's door?
Fuji glanced up when the door closed and greeted him with a small smile. The weariness in his eyes however made Tezuka's stomach sink. Denial's soar had been short-lived.
"How are you doing?" Tezuka asked and sat down on the bed's corner next to Fuji.
The flush had gone from his friend's face and his eyes had lost their feverish shine as well, but he still remained too pale. There were an opened pill package and a bottle of water standing beside the bed, and with a frown Tezuka realized that Fuji's condition probably hadn't improved at all.
"Better," replied Fuji and managed suppress a cough. Then with a tilt of the head he added: "Though I'm afraid I'll have to occupy your bed a little longer. I haven't gotten hold of my sister yet and your mother refuses to let me go home before that."
Tezuka nodded, silently agreeing with his mother.
"I don't mind," he said. The idea of Fuji out there alone had the hairs on the back of his neck stand. Icy horror still stole across his heart when he recalled that phone call and the following hours. As long as that spirit was after them, he didn't want to let Fuji out of his sight.
"Thank you," Fuji smiled. Then the gentle curving of his lips melted away and was replaced by a graver expression. "Was there any reaction from the Nakayamas? Or indication thereof?"
He wondered if he should tell Fuji about his grandfather's request. The moment he told him, Fuji would inevitably demand to join them in his grandfather's study, yet Tezuka wasn't sure if doing so wouldn't strain Fuji's already weakened condition.
Tezuka swallowed, hesitated for a moment, but then realized that Fuji was second to only his mother when it came to seeing through him.
"I think they called my grandfather," he told Fuji and fixed his gaze on the bed covers.
The other's posture immediately straightened. "Do you know what they told him? I mean related to that spirit," Fuji inquired with an atypical sense of urgency.
Tezuka frowned, trying his best not to let the anxiety that blossomed in his chest at Fuji's reaction show. "I'm not sure. Actually my grandfather only asked to speak with me about what happened, so I'm not even sure the Nakayamas called him."
"But you do think so." Fuji protested immediately and Tezuka fell silent. Seigaku's captain was not inclined to share the details about the confrontation with his mother that still had him feel unsettled.
Seeing his unease, Fuji fell back, shook his head and then, shyly, placed his own hand on Tezuka's.
"I'm sorry, I keep forgetting this must all be one huge nightmare to you," Fuji said, his voice a little lighter than before, "It's just … well, to be honest, it's not much different for me. I did know such things could happen, but I just never expected them to happen to me. Artefacts that draw powerful entities are exceedingly rare and the probability of getting involved with some sort of a spirit because of one is so small."
A cough interrupted Fuji and Tezuka felt his hand trembled. Those pale fingers looked much smaller than his own, which was strange since he could remember a time when Fuji had stood at almost the same height as him.
"And now I'm rambling. Must be those meds, so please bear with me," Fuji continued, "If I had known what would happen I would have told you the first time. I would have never come back for that stupid student ID had I known, no matter how much of a hassle it is to get a new one."
Finally Tezuka lifted his head and found Fuji's face close to his own. He could have counted his eyelashes, yet his gaze was mesmerized by the sparkling blue of Fuji's eyes. Rarely had he had the opportunity to observe them so close.
Fuji offered him a smile tainted by regret. "If I had known how much trouble that would have spared us…"
Tezuka swallowed down the lump that had been obstructing his throat and shook his head. "You couldn't have known. Nobody could have."
His words had little effect.
"But I should have," Fuji replied and his fingers unconsciously tightened around Tezuka's hand. "I saw the clues and couldn't piece them together. And later, when I told you the spirit wouldn't be able to track you, or that it needed you for the wards – I really shouldn't have misjudged the entire situation so badly."
Before Tezuka could protest, Fuji's gaze dropped to Tezuka's arm. "Does it hurt?"
"Not at all," Tezuka lied and Fuji glared at him, but a coughing fit stopped him from objecting. The dry, hacking sounds sent a shudder down Tezuka's spine and he could only helplessly watch as Fuji bent over. His hand felt cold where Fuji had taken his away.
"Don't worry about it; I'm taking care of the injury. It will take a little to heal, but it'll be as good as new once it does," Tezuka told Fuji once his friend's breathing had calmed down. "And you should know; if you hadn't been there those times we encountered the spirit, I probably… well, I don't think we'd be sitting here and talking now."
Fuji paled and Tezuka was silently glad his words had gotten the desired effect.
"I would have never even known what was happening," he added, "And I can't even begin to try and form any kind of opinion on the situation, much less of being able to guess what that spirit is going to do next."
The sharp look Fuji gave him told him the other didn't entirely believe him, but changed the topic anyways. "As you mention that, you said the Nakayamas called your grandfather..."
Tezuka nodded and stood. "I'm not sure what they said, but he's waiting in his study," a small bout of guilt attacked him when he remembered how long his grandfather had to be waiting by now; "I should better go and meet him now."
"Tezuka…" Fuji glanced up at him, the unspoken question loud in the air between them.
A sigh left Tezuka's lips. "You can come along, too."
When Fuji emerged from the bathroom, Tezuka glanced up from the book he had attempted to read. His mind had been too busy with other, more important questions to concentrate on the letters in front of his eyes and he hoped the following conversation with his grandfather could put his worries to rest.
It felt as if an eternity had passed since he had last sat somewhere without maddening doubt gnawing at his mind, wondering if the spirit would abruptly appear and attack, or if it was already in the house, attacking his family or Fuji.
"Thanks for the clothes," Fuji said and Tezuka raised an eyebrow. The navy jumper he had given Fuji looked more like a dress on his team mate and the sleeves went far past his finger tips.
Tezuka put the book aside and stood up. "I'm sorry I don't have anything else." He said, while a part of his mind wondered just when he had grown so much taller than Fuji.
"I don't mind," Fuji replied with a hint of his usual cheerful smile, "It's comfortable."
With a slight shake of his head Tezuka left the room. The air in the corridor was cooler, but Fuji appeared unfazed. The stairs didn't give him any trouble either and if it hadn't been for the occasional cough and Tezuka's knowledge of the fever medication, he'd never have guessed Fuji to be sick.
The closer they got to Kunikazu's study however, the heavier Tezuka's heart became. His mind began turning over possible venues of discussion, yet he couldn't find any probable answer. He took a deep breath before he knocked.
"Come in," a voice called from inside and Tezuka was glad to find his grandfather calm once he entered. The older man didn't like waiting much, but apparently this time was an exception.
"Fuji-kun, Kunimitsu," he greeted, "Please sit down."
Tezuka crossed the traditional room, and the tatami felt warm underneath his feet. His grandfather sat behind a low table with four cushions placed around it. Behind him was a large shelf filled with books and wooden boxes and similar shelves occupied the other side of the room as well.
"Tezuka-san." Fuji returned and bowed before following Tezuka inside, "I hope I'm not being a bother."
"Never, especially not in this matter," Kunikazu replied, "It concerns you just as much, if not more so, than Kunimitsu and me."
Fuji nodded and sat down.
Tezuka swallowed and his grandfather observed them silently before he began to talk.
"Nakayama Kenta called me last night, and while he did not tell me very much, it was enough to understand the story concerning a forgotten student ID and a snowball fight is a lie."
Kunikazu's gaze rested on Tezuka who felt like sinking into the ground. The more he thought about it, the less he could forgive himself for lying to his parents – his mother was hurt already and he didn't want to imagine the disappointed expression on his father's face should he come to know the truth.
"Apparently you did not tell Kenta very much about what exactly happened either, but went straight to implicate a matter far more serious," Kunikazu paused, frowned and the continued, "I don't understand much of Kenta's work, but I know enough to understand that impossible or supernatural things can occur. Thus I'd ask you to be honest with me and tell me what took place at Kenta's house."
Involuntarily Tezuka found himself glancing over to Fuji, as he still felt too confused to give a coherent summary of the events and how they connected. Fuji straightened up and met Kunikazu's inquisitive eyes head on.
"Back when Tezuka first went to check up on the house I accompanied him and accidentally lost my student ID there, which is why I went back the next day," Fuji calmly recounted and Tezuka barely dared to breathe.
"That second time I encountered a spirit, or ghost, or whatever it was, attempting to break the wards. It failed but in an altered form it managed to draw my blood and as I was in possession of a key at that time, a breaking of the wards was no longer necessary," Fuji continued, omitting Tezuka's presence, the surprise attack from the cat as well as his own fainting spell the first time.
"The situation yesterday resulted from the spirit having found what it was looking for, but incapable of breaking the container it was being kept in. Using me to track down Tezuka, it summoned us both to the house in order to open the box." Fuji's face revealed no emotion.
Tezuka felt cold sweat on his forehead.
"But said box was empty." Kunikazu completed the tale and Fuji blinked in surprise. The old man thoughtfully glanced at the ceiling. "I see."
He narrowed his eyes. "About a year ago Kenta approached me and asked me whether I was willing to keep something safe in his stead. Naturally, I inquired for the reasons, especially since Kenta appeared rather tense about the entire matter."
"It turned out he and his wife had stumbled on some supposedly magical artefact on one of their journeys. They had taken it home, yet as they had become quite known for their collection Kenta believed their house not safe enough to store this particular item," Kunikazu told them and Tezuka dimly recalled the frequent visits the Nakayamas had paid them once, "Kenta tried to explain the exact reasons, but I'm afraid to admit I did not quite understand those."
Fuji tilted his head. "Pardon my curiosity, but you wouldn't know where exactly they picked up the item in question?"
Kunikazu sighed. "I only know they had returned from a journey covering the Middle East and Northern Africa before coming to me, but I don't know if that is where they picked up the artefact," his gaze circled the shelves on the far wall, all which held more books and a selection of fine, engraved boxes, "But allow me a question in return, Fuji-kun. How did you get so familiar with affairs like this?"
For the first time since they had entered the room, Tezuka saw a small smile form on Fuji's face. "My sister is well-versed in most things concerning the supernatural and while she is far more gifted than I am, from time to time I catch a glimpse of ghosts or spirits and suchlike."
Tezuka managed to keep himself from looking at Fuji in surprise – why had he never told him, he wanted to ask, even if he knew the answer himself. Kunikazu only nodded thoughtfully.
"To be honest," the older man said, "I wouldn't believe this, but Kenta and you are credible sources, so you must be right about it."
"Did Nakayama-san say anything about what to do?" Tezuka inquired before silence could settle. Remembering the spirit and its parting words made him increasingly uneasy.
His grandfather glanced at him. "That apparently is a highly urgent matter," he observed calmly, "But yes. Kenta called an acquaintance of his who will come by tonight."
He glanced out his right, where a large window made up the wall of the room, opening to a white garden. The green of the pines had almost completely disappeared and even the trees' dark branches had been frozen white.
"It will be relocated," Kunikazu announced, "The acquaintance is familiar with spirits and will take the item to a safe place and that ghost of whatever should leave you alone."
Fuji nodded, but Tezuka could feel the scepticism lingering in himself. It sounded too easy to be true; even though he desperately wanted to believe it would work.
"Can't it be destroyed?" Tezuka asked with a heavy heart.
His grandfather blinked, while Fuji's smile became strained. The suggestion was unlike him, he realized, but he withheld his grandfather's inquisitive stare. In the silence the wind outside grew twice as loud and the rustling of frozen branches sounded like a storm.
"I would not know about that," his grandfather eventually replied with a deep frown, "But this is an invaluable ancient treasure. I don't think destroying it would be a good measure to take."
Deep within Tezuka's chest a small bubble of anger formed. Whatever cultural value the object might hold, it wasn't worth seeing Fuji disappear underneath a thick layer of ice. It wasn't worth risking their lives.
Yet Fuji did not insist on the item's destruction either, and Tezuka could not think of a valid reason. Relocation seemed too simple, too naïve to work.
But maybe just that was the trick.
The spirit hadn't killed him either when it had lifted the knife against him.
Maybe the solution to their troubles was easier than expected.
"Would you like to see it?" Kunikazu asked suddenly, turning his gaze away from the snow covered world outside.
Fuji and Tezuka exchanged a glance. Curiosity, but also anxiousness lingered in Tezuka's eyes, his entire face surprisingly open and readable to Fuji. Fuji's eyes however, had hardened and no emotion but skepticism visible in their depth.
It was ironic, Tezuka realized and a bitter flavor filled his heart, how this horrid affair made him open up and Fuji retreat even further behind his mask.
"Only if it isn't too much of a bother," Fuji replied politely.
Kunikazu shook his head. "It isn't."
With that he got up; but instead of heading for the door, he turned to the garden side of the room and slid one of the shoji screens aside. Behind the paper construct was a second door, leading outside.
Fuji tilted his head, and Tezuka silently reprimanded himself for having forgotten about this door.
Kunikazu procured three pair of slippers from a cupboard. "Those aren't really made for this weather," he said, "But we won't be outside for too long."
Worriedly Tezuka gazed at Fuji. Going out into the cold without a jacket or solid footwear was suicide for his already weakened condition. Just watching the black and white scenery outside made him feel colder. Fuji's expression however, betrayed nothing and before Tezuka could protest, his grandfather had already opened the door.
The air that hit them felt like ice and burned with each breath Tezuka took.
Fuji shivered beside him, only his grandfather appeared unmoved by the cold. Snow crunched under their feet as they followed an invisible path that led them past the koi pond that had turned into another field of white powder.
It wasn't even a minute before they halted at a stone lantern, but Tezuka couldn't feel his toes anymore. Fuji's lips were already turning a faint shade of blue and every inch of his posture practically screamed at him to return inside.
Tezuka hoped his grandfather would hurry.
When the older man carefully removed the lantern's roof, Tezuka forgot about the dreary atmosphere for a moment. His breath clouded in front of him as he watched what he had always deemed one of his mother's garden decoration objects change into a treasury.
The air was eerily still around them and Kunikazu proceeded to extract a small, simple wooden box from the space within the lantern.
"This is it," he told them and opened the hatch.
Tezuka blinked. To him, the small black stone resting inside was nothing special, yet Fuji beside him nodded thoughtfully. Once again, Tezuka felt horribly out of his depth – was this stone emitting a special sort of power only Fuji could feel? Did it radiate a special light of some sort? Just how could people tell it was so special?
"I see," was all Fuji said, "Thank you for showing us."
He shivered and Tezuka frowned. They shouldn't have come out here just to look at a stone. "We should go back inside," he said and turned demonstratively.
"You're right," Kunikazu agreed, just when Fuji coughed. Seeing the worried gazes, Fuji waved them away and followed Tezuka back at a slower pace.
Tezuka had almost reached the door, when Fuji turned to Kunikazu. "There is one more thing I'd like to ask," he said and Kunikazu nodded at him to continue with a gauging look.
"Before we went for the house the first time, Tezuka told me he was to go to check up on things," Fuji eyed the traditional house in front of him speculatively. The wards of his building were strong; he could feel them even without touching them directly.
"Was there any particular reason for concern?"
Kunikazu shook his head. "Only that their neighbour had died surprisingly, and they were afraid of burglars coming in once it became known both houses were empty."
"I see," Fuji replied.
The afternoon had almost turned into night, when Fuji finally managed to reach his sister. Tezuka and his mother had ordered him back to bed the moment their little excursion outside was over and if he had to be honest, it had been for the best.
His fever hadn't taken well to the cold outside and he had spent most of the afternoon sleeping or half-passed out as the fever abruptly spiked and left him incoherent. Only now the medication slowly started working. He had blurry memories of Tezuka sitting beside him, reading or talking to him, but he might as well have imagined it.
"Syusuke?" Yumiko sounded out of breath, and he could hear loud chatter in the background.
"Hello there," Fuji greeted and noticed his voice sounded hoarse again, "How are you?"
"Busy, thank you," his sister replied, "You sound odd, though."
Fuji swallowed. He didn't much like the prospect of retelling the events once again, but it was necessary. "It's a long story," he admitted with a sigh, "Remember when I asked you about spirits in the Nikko area?"
There was moment of silence and from the sudden lessening of background noises Fuji guessed that his sister had gone to another room.
"Where are you now?" Yumiko inquired quietly.
"At Tezuka's. I'm running a slight fever and Tezuka-san won't let me leave as long as I'll be home alone," Fuji explained.
Yumiko sighed. "I won't make it back before tomorrow night earliest. Organisation isn't working to well over here, so I can't promise anything, but please tell Tezuka-san I'm immensely grateful."
After a pause she continued, sounding not as worried as before. "So now tell me what happened."
It was Fuji's turn to draw a deep breath. "The owners of the house we went to kept some highly powerful artefact over there and a spirit or something similar learnt of it. So it chased us in order to break the wards and seals and I ended up in a lake along the way."
"Be a little more precise," Yumiko demanded, concern and strictness mixing in her voice.
His hands played with the bed cover. "It was a relocation spell or something. We were in a park near Seigaku when I fell into the water and at that house when I came out."
"And was that item found?" Yumiko asked.
"No," Fuji answered darkly, recalling the spirit's surprise, "The box containing it was empty. Apparently the original had been hidden at Tezuka's house all along."
"And does the spirit know?"
"Not yet," Fuji's gazed over to the window and into the falling night outside. He wondered what time it was in New Zealand right now, how the weather was and whether the spirit had already encountered Nakayama Kenta and his wife.
"And I'm still not certain what that spirit is," he added after a break. This after all, was what he had wanted to ask his sister.
"You don't know what it is?" She asked ominously.
Fuji tore his eyes away from the window and back to the bed covers. The darkness outside unsettled something deep within him, stirring up memories of freezing black water all around him, the light dimmed, distorted and no air.
"I can't place it," Fuji admitted, pulling himself from the petrifying recollection, "Its abilities make no sense. It is hideously powerful, but at times it seems as if it could turn its powers on and off at will. And in one way or another it is capable of either possession or shape shifting. Probably it can also create illusions."
"And use water to switch places," Yumiko added flatly.
The tone of her voice sent shivers down Fuji's spine. She rarely spoke like this and it never bode well.
She sighed. "I'm afraid that's not quite an ordinary spirit you encountered there."
Fuji remained silent and she continued. "First, element control is a rare ability, even among spirits. Some can influence them, but to precisely control them as you described it requires a lot of power. Furthermore, the sudden appearances could imply that this spirit was capable of suppressing its powers and that is highly unusual."
She frowned. "Last but not least, a mysterious item. Very, very few spirits concern themselves with objects, ghosts even less so. And the number of those that would actively pursue items and go to such extreme measures is smaller still."
Fuji's heart missed a beat. "That means…"
Yumiko nodded grimly. "Your spirit is probably no spirit at all."
She hesitated.
"It's either something ancient, foreign and rare. I can't remember ever having heard of such a case before."
Another pause. Fuji held his breath.
"Or you are dealing with a demon."
tbc
Thank you very much for reading, and if you spy a spelling mistake or want to share your opinion - please do so :)