"Where are you two going?," Mrs. Sugawara caught them just before they left. She glanced at a clock, and frowned.
"Sorry. Just going for a walk," Kitsuna answered honestly. The woman gave a shrewd look, but didn't push further and let them go with a warning not to be out too late. She also forced her own coat onto Kitsuna, complaining that she was bound to get sick dressed so lightly.
"Sorry, she's kinda pushy sometimes," Suga apologized for her again as they headed for a familiar intersection. Kitsuna laughed it off, but Suga was seriously annoyed by his mom's pushy nature.
"I don't mind, I can be pretty stubborn too. You're like the complete opposite most of the time, though," she shared a shrewd observation that made him grumble a little bit to himself.
They walked for quite a while, well past where Daichi lived and started heading up a steep hill. The roads got less maintained, and sidewalk gave way to frozen grass and steep turns. Kitsuna checked over her shoulder a few times, as if confirming she hadn't missed a turn or something. They eventually arrived at an old driveway, covered with snow. There was a house set back away from the road, with no signs of life at all. A window or two was busted out, and the door sagged on its hinges. Kitsuna walked right up to it though, slowing down as she reached the faded bluish door.
"Don't think I've been back here since that day actually," she commented. She kicked something by the door, an old beer bottle that skittered off the steps and into the snow. Suga was once again at a loss for words as she stood there studying the eaves and other areas.
"Hey," she spun around suddenly with a mischievous grin. "Think it's haunted?"
"What? Why do you look like you want it to be?," Suga half shouted at her. She laughed at his reaction, making him feel stupid. He felt his face heat up, and was glad the scarf kept it partially covered from view.
"C'mon, let's see," she grabbed his sleeve and pulled him through the door before he could protest further. It was darker inside, the only light coming through the windows as the sun started to set. The place was a mess, strewn cans and bottles all over. Old moldy dishes sat in the dry sink, and the furniture was in terrible shape. A couch sagged in the living room, and as they went further in things only got worse. Dust was caked on every surface, and the floorboards creaked loudly under their feet. Kitsuna stopped in front of a door, down the hallway, that was cracked open.
"Hey," Suga felt her grip loosen on his sleeve, then tighten again. Her hand was shaking, and he didn't think it was just from the cold. She took a deep breath, and pushed the door open. The room was empty, with only an old dresser and a few stickers spread around the walls and table. On the floor, there in the middle, was a solitary notebook. It wasn't as dusty as everything else, and was really out of place there. Kitsuna spotted it, too, and gingerly picked it up to inspect it.
"Something you left here?," Suga asked. It was obvious that this must have been her room at some point. The missing furniture was likely in her new place, or replaced completely. It was clear that the house was left suddenly, almost making it feel creepier with the remnants of human life that were ripped out in a flash.
"No. Weird," Kitsuna tucked it under her arm to take with, and gave the room one more long pass over with her eyes.
"Damn," Suga said under his breath. It wasn't the time or place, but the pale yellow sunlight filtering through the window outlined her frame in a stunning display. Her hair curled out from under the old gray hat, lit up like a fire that fell around her shoulders and face. The coat she wore was almost too small, her sweater sleeves poking out and pulled around her wrists, with gloves that were at least a size too large covering her slender hands. She wore tights under a pair of shorts that was eclipsed by the coat, and a pair of hiking boots with a bit of fleece lining poking out at the top. Her legs were long, and strong, even with the dark fabric covering them that was apparent. Steamy clouds rose from her lips, glittering with chapstick to protect against the bitter winter air. Her nose was red, and so were the tops of her ears. Her skin was lighter than in summer, but even in the cold winter lighting the complexion was warm and soft. Her lashes caught the light, too, framing her golden hazel eyes with a fiery glow. There was dust in the air, and it added to the effects of the backlight to give her an almost ethereal presence in front of him.
"You good? See a ghost?," she turned toward him and he could tell she was grinning under the scarf.
"Gy-what? No way, I'm just tired. And cold," he tried to fish for an excuse and only came up with those two lame explanations. Kitsuna laughed, a genuine one this time, and patted him on the shoulder as she exited the room.
"Let's go, Mr. Chicken," she laughed down the hall, until he snapped at her by the door.
"Welcome back," Mrs. Sugawara greeted them with a yawn when they got back. There were some other adults in the living room who looked over at them.
"Sorry, your dad's got some friends over now," the woman explained. Kitsuna was too busy trying to figure out the coat and scarf to pay them any mind, until Suga stopped laughing and helped her out of both. They headed for Suga's room, not wanting to be in the way or get dragged into the adults' fun. Once inside, the two realized something and were both on edge for a good twenty minutes or so.
"Wow, your room's kinda boring," Kitsuna finally found something to say and sat on the edge of his bed while he put away some scattered notebooks.
"Rude. What were you expecting to find in here then?," Suga felt somewhat upset at that comment, though he wasn't really particular about how people viewed it any other time.
"I dunno. If it was Tanaka's or Noya's, I bet they'd have to hide a ton of stuff under the bed or in a closet," she chuckled at that, and Suga had to agree with her assessment.
"Hinata has a bunch of manga, and some really cute stuff. Natsu showed me around their house that one time. Daichi's room is even more boring, though," she rattled off a few interesting details, stopping to let out a huge yawn.
"You better not fall asleep there," Suga warned. She was staying over for the night, but he was not about to give up his bed.
"Oh hush. It's still better than being stuck with a bunch of old farts and their dusty old house," she said, but was still obviously running out of steam.
"Is it that bad at the Ukais'?," Suga asked, trying to keep something going so he didn't doze off either. Kitsuna stood up and joined him by a low bookshelf, scanning the spines of the books there for anything interesting. She was painfully close, but part of him didn't mind that either.
"Hell yeah it is. They've got a stupid strict 'no games' rule. No manga either, even Keishin keeps all that above the store in his room. It's either help gramps teach some neighbor kids about volleyball, or sit and rot," she went on a mini rant, clearly frustrated from her week-long stay up the mountain. During that tangent, they had moved back onto the floor next to the bed while she flipped through some game on her phone.
"You could just not go, right?," Suga kept talking to keep his mind off of other things. Kitsuna probably understood that, maybe even felt similar, but she was fighting a losing battle against her body right now.
"I could, but then what'd I do? Sit around at home and get mad that I didn't do anything? I'd rather be bored than feel like I could've done something and didn't," she yawned again. Suga tried to think of something else to ask about, but he was struggling too.
By the time the adult guests left and Mrs. Sugawara went to let the teens know, they had both fallen asleep there on the floor. Kitsuna was resting her head on her knees, curled up tight, while her son was leaning on the girl's shoulder fast asleep. Mrs. Sugawara smiled at the pair, and pulled a blanket around them before easing the door shut. She worried, like so many others, about how the two were so close yet kept a wall up between each other. A line they refused to cross, even though the chemistry between them was so obvious to everyone else. Whatever the reason was, one was bound to break through sooner or later. And that thought put her restless mind at ease, just a little bit.