Chapter Text
It took half an hour and two cups of tea for Tezuka to process everything he was learning, and piece things together in his brain.
“You don’t just transform into a human. You transform into specific people… or other living things… that you were with when they died.”
“Yes… my useless power.” Fuji just stared into his still full mug.
“... Fuji Syuusuke…”
“Is… was… Yumiko’s little brother. Yuuta’s big brother. He died when he was nine… and I was with him so…”
Tezuka tapped his finger against the mug. “That would have been 13 years ago. Now you’re living his life, and you’re not nine.” And had lived as Fuji Syuusuke longer than the real Syuusuke had been alive.
“It started out as a way to trick Yuuta, so he wouldn’t be sad, but…” Fuji shook his head. “Even after Yuuta found out, then it just seemed like.. Like they needed me to stay this way. It was what Yumiko and Yuuta both wanted.”
That sounded like a complicated emotional story Tezuka felt he shouldn’t pry into.
“. . . If you’re not really Fuji Syuusuke…. Then what’s your name?”
Blinking, Fuji looked up from his mug, as if this were the last question he was expecting. “Oh, it’s - well, when I hatched, Syuusuke named me Hyuu Hyuu.”
That was certainly the name a child would give. “Hyuu…” Tezuka tried saying it, and only kept a straight face because he always kept a straight face.
“Ah, they don’t call me that though. Um, Yumiko and Yuuta. The ones who know. They call me Hyuusuke, if they’re not just calling me Syuusuke like everyone else.”
It didn’t really matter, Tezuka supposed. If Hyuusuke had been living as Syuusuke for the last thirteen years, that’s who he was now. And Tezuka had only know this Syuusuke.
“Are all familiars like you?”
“Oh no,” Fuji's smile came back, just a little. “They’re animals - well, I too, when I’m a bat, my brain is… I guess it’s a tiny bat’s brain. I can’t really think straight, and I guess it’s like that for the other familiars, just all the time. After I became Syuu...well, human, it was like a whole new way of understanding the world.”
“You all have different powers?”
“Mmm, there’s sort of a range. There are vampire bats, they also transform, specifically into the people they suck blood from, or so I’ve heard, I’ve never met one. I’ve never met another fruit bat, either. Yumiko has one more familiar, a pipe fox, but familiars… we bond to who we see when we first open our eyes. I saw Yumiko, of course, but the first to hatch was my sister, and Yuuta and Syuusuke were at our nest, and well.. She’s bonded to Yuuta now.”
Like all witches, Yumiko was very excited to be given a branch from the Tree of Life.
She crafted it into a bonsai, and grew it in a pot, and cared for it. She had just graduated from middle school when she saw it bear fruit, three little pods that soon grew into healthy eggs.
She pulled them off once they were the size of chicken eggs and settled them into a nest. She’d read about this, of course, and consulted with her sisterhood, and she knew she was doing all she could. She was very lucky to have three - most witches only got one or two.
Her little brothers came into her room to look at them every day. Syuusuke had just started first grade while Yuuta was still in kindergarten. They were so cute, checking the temperature and adjusting the lamp and telling her if they thought the eggs weren’t warm enough.
She should have been more careful.
“They’re hatching!” Syuusuke declared, running into the kitchen where Yumiko was peeling apples together with her mom. Her mom was teaching her how to make apple pie.
Yumiko ran excitedly into her room with Syuusuke, to see indeed, one of the eggs had hatched and another was starting to crack.
Out of the hatched egg was a tiny white tube, that would have looked like a snake if it didn’t have tiny little wings and limbs, that Yumiko recognized from her book about familiars was a pipe fox.
It was looking right at Yuuta, who was staring back in fascination.
“Oh!” Yumiko gasped, realizing her mistake.
It was her magic that grew the eggs, these were her familiars, but the pipe fox would forever be bonded with Yuuta.
The second egg shook, and a hole appeared.
“Move,” she said, trying her best not to be angry when she knew it was her own fault this had happened.
As the second egg cracked open further, she made sure she was positioned to be the first one its inhabitant saw.
A tiny furry head came out, then wet, limping wings - but she could see a tiny, adorable little bat coming out of the shell. It wasn’t truly a newborn bat, so its little head was already furry as she pet it with her pinky finger, and it opened its eyes at her encouragement.
This one she properly bonded with.
She checked the third egg, but it seemed that one wanted more time.
Sighing, she looked at the pipe fox, which had already curled up and gone back to sleep. She examined it enough to guess it was a girl; the bat was clearly a boy. Both would be visited by a sisterhood vet by the end of the week to be sure. “Well, Yuuta, she’ll want to stay with you when she’s grown a bit, so you should name her.”
“She’s gonna stay with me?” Of course Yuuta was confused, he was only four. But he was a good child and Yumiko trusted him.
“Give her a name,” said Syuusuke. He was very smart for a five year old.
“Shiro,” said Yuuta, and immediately Yumiko knew she’d made a mistake.
“How bout Pip instead? Since she’s a pipe fox,” Syuusuke said.
“Pip!” Yuuta declared, as if he had named it.
Yumiko wasn’t sure if Syuusuke was clever or manipulative. Of course he would also have recognized it as a pipe fox, he memorized everything he read and read everything he could get his hands on.
“Alright, Syuusuke, you name the other one.” She supposed if it mattered, she could name the third one herself.
“Hyuu hyuu,” Syuusuke whistled, as if this made perfect sense and were an actual name.
Yumiko had definitely made a mistake.
For the next few days, she let the two baby familiars stay in their nest, seeing as they were comfortable there. Pip stayed curled up, but Hyuu Hyuu was a strange little bat. He kept covering the third egg with his wings, as though he were hugging it. It was a habit he’d develop while sleeping, she’d learn eventually, that had nothing to do with being a bat.
On the fourth day, when she woke up, she went to the nest to see Pip still curled up in a ball, and two eggs in the nest.
She balked in confusion. How could… how had… it wasn’t in her head, Hyuu Hyuu had certainly hatched. Besides, the two eggs were identical speckled red eggs, not like Hyuu Hyuu’s light brown one. She carefully touched each of them.
Frowning, she realized only one was warm. That was the one that started to rock and hatch, right after she touched it.
Out popped a little red lizard.
It too had wings, and she guessed it was a fire salamander. Now there was a powerful familiar.
She touched the other egg again, and found herself looking around the room for Hyuu Hyuu. He had already filled in all his fur and had been flapping his wings the other day, developing much faster than a real bat, as a familiar should. But that didn’t explain the new egg…
As she stroked it, the fire salamander opened its eyes to reveal an eerie blue hue.
Magic. It was using magic. Her eyes too glowed blue when she used magic, just like her mother’s, and it seemed her familiars had adapted that as well.
She picked up the little lizard, wondering if it was about to breath fire - when something changed, and in her hands was no longer the lizard, but Hyuu Hyuu.
It took time, and consultation with the sisterhood, for them to figure out Hyuu Hyuu’s power. She finally brought herself to crack open the third, cold egg, and indeed, inside was a red lizard, almost fully formed but it would have never hatched.
She buried it in the yard, and planted yarrow on top of it, giving it a proper witches’ funeral. Her parents and brothers joined her, along with her familiars.
Pip had grown quickly, then stopped, still thin as a pencil and about three feet long. It was clear she wanted to be with Yuuta - she slithered away into his room every chance she got, and he’d wake up to find her wrapped around him.
It wasn’t a bad thing, Yumiko knew. Pipe foxes had only one power - they brought luck. It was the kind of vague power most witches shunned but some desired strongly, and many of her sister witches thought it was a shame she hadn’t bonded with it properly. But Yuuta, while he was a perfectly good, average kid, was already starting to struggle being compared to his genius brother who seemed to do everything perfectly the first time. Having Pip was something Yuuta had over Syuusuke, and Yumiko felt Yuuta needed Pip more than she did.
Besides, she had Hyuu Hyuu.
The little bat slept with her every night, even though she made him a cave and a perch in her closet. He was a great familiar. He could fly and carry messages - or retrieve herbs from hard to reach places - and do all sorts of tasks that only his tiny body and nice wings could help with. Then there was the major bonus of him transforming into Laz, the name she’d given to her third familiar even though he hadn’t hatched - fire salamanders were indeed powerful. Though despite having wings, neither Laz nor Pip could really fly, so for Yumiko, she still found Hyuu Hyuu in his true form was her favorite.
Pip and Hyuu Hyuu stopped growing, but her brothers didn’t, nor her powers as a witch. Like her mother before her, Yumiko became a key member of the sisterhood. She made friends, had lovers, and made enemies too. She supported her coven and they supported her in turn. They focused on growth and healing, but they weren’t afraid to defend, and they always answered the call when the Japanese government turned to them, usually as a last resort.
So when she got the call - there’s been an accident - her mind went through her list of enemies.
She raced with Hyuu Hyuu to the hospital.
Her parents died in the car.
Whether from the impact or the fire or explosion that followed - did it matter?
There were no enemies. The truck driver had died too. Fallen asleep at the wheel after 20 hours of driving, trying to meet his company’s deadlines. There was no one to blame, no one to curse.
Yuuta and Syuusuke had been in the back.
The nurse led her to the room.
Yuuta was asleep on a chair.
There was another nurse with him, and behind them, a curtain to create privacy for the patient.
Yuuta had hit his head and fallen unconscious when the accident happened.
Syuusuke may have been hurt, but he’d been awake. He was a tiny nine year old, Yuuta weighed almost as much as him despite being a year younger. But Syuusuke had managed to get them out of their safety belts, and dragged Yuuta out of the car.
He’d covered Yuuta with his own body, protecting him when the explosion happened.
With trembling hands, Yumiko pulled back the curtain.
“We’ve done what we can,” said the nurse.
Yumiko covered her hand with her mouth, tears welling up in her eyes.
The bandages covered Syuusuke’s torso, his limbs, and part of his head. Around their edges she could see the burns, the scaring. It was too much - she closed her eyes.
“We’ll give you a moment to say goodbye,” said the nurse, and left the room with the one who’d guided her there.
Hyuu Hyuu slipped out of her coat where he’d been hiding, fluttering over to Syuusuke, and nestled in the crook of his neck, as Hyuu Hyuu did with her every night.
She heard a little squeak.
It was Pip.
The little pipe fox peaked out from underneath Yuuta’s shirt.
“Pip, you -”
And then it hit her.
She’d been about to blame Pip for not saving her family, but Pip had done her job. Yuuta at most would have a scar on his forehead from where he scraped the pavement; otherwise, he was unharmed.
That accident had killed three people, and put Syuusuke on the bed in front of her. But Yuuta had been fine.
Magic had saved him. Her magic that had made her familiar.
Later she would realize that the only reason Syuusuke had lived long enough to be in the hospital was so he’d be able to save Yuuta. That Pip’s luck had extended that far - but only that far.
And she’d wonder if the reason Pip had locked eyes with Yuuta, if that had been her good luck. That Pip had been with Yuuta when the accident happened, instead of her at the sisterhood meeting.
And that the reason Yuuta was asleep right now was because of Pip’s good luck casting as well.
When she brought herself to open her eyes again, she almost screamed.
There was Syuusuke - next to Syuusuke. Naked, but in perfect health, unburned, sleeping peacefully…
“Hyuu…” No, no! She knew what it meant. The nurses weren’t rushing in when the flat line happened because they knew there was nothing to be done.
And then she went into denial.
She called upon her sisters. Two came within ten minutes. They worked with the nurses, the doctor, the hospital administration. In the eyes of the Japanese Government, Fuji Syuusuke hadn’t died that night. In a part of Yumiko’s mind, and in most of Yuuta’s, he hadn’t, he was right here, still with them.
Syuusuke… the real Syuusuke… they gave a witches’ burial. Buried him in the ground, in a shrine run by the coven, and planted a cherry tree on top of him. She saved some of his hair to mix into her parents’ ashes, to add to the family grave.
And then came the lies.
It was easier than she’d thought. Hyuu Hyuu had been a little bat until a week ago. He barely knew how to be human. He had to learn how to read and write and even to talk. All was blamed on brain damage from the accident. He wasn’t a baby, he knew plenty about the world, and who people were. More importantly, Yumiko realized, he had Syuusuke’s genius brain, was Syuusuke down to the tee when it came to his abilities. He learned so quickly, and soon was acing the same classes as other kids his age, and by the time he entered middle school, it was like nothing had happened.
But Yuuta wasn’t going to be a child forever.
Yuuta kept quiet about it, but at some point Yumiko knew he wasn’t fooled. Perhaps it was Hyuusuke’s eyes, which turned blue when he transformed into Syuusuke, as he was actively using magic. Or perhaps Yuuta just remembered, and knew there was no way Syuusuke’d been ok.
At some point Hyuusuke knew it too. When Hyuusuke graduated middle school, he asked if he should stop transforming.
Neither Yumiko or Yuuta wanted that. To them, Hyuusuke was as much their family, their brother now, as Syuusuke was. And while she’d still have him as a bat, Hyuusuke was different then Hyuu Hyuu. Yumiko did not want her brother to die again.
And so Hyuusuke became Syuusuke, and grew up. Yumiko would have forgotten he was her familiar, if he didn’t keep transforming back when he fell asleep, and also because he kept trying to serve her. Before, she’d seen him as her pet, her familiar, her servant. But now he was her little brother, who she’d have long conversations with, who’d been there for her - not as a pet to give comfort - but with advice and insight - as she’d ended relationships and faced challenges in her life. He became her best friend and confidant.
And she knew she wasn’t the only one to feel that way. Yuuta went between being Hyuusuke’s brother, rival, and friend in cycles - but he never treated Hyuusuke as anything less than human. And everyone seemed to think Hyuusuke was their best friend. Other than odd quirks of pranking people (which Syuusuke had done, and unfortunately seemed to be genetic), and eating spicy food (despite not being able to handle it as a bat), Hyuusuke was not only popular - he was beloved. He might have not seen it in himself, but he was a good friend.
There were so many that needed him.
So when the storm came, and the sisterhood’s shields failed, and their deflective spells failed, and the storm grew out of control, and they realized they’d have to go to the source directly - she knew she had to leave Hyuusuke behind.
She knew how this was likely to end.
“They cast a curse.” Fuji’s voice was weak, but at least he was talking again.
He’d cried for hours, as the storm ended, the rain turned into a trickle and the wind died down to nothing. Morning came, and sun filtered into the window for the first time in days.
“They didn’t know how else to stop the storm, so they killed the casters.”
Tezuka hadn’t asked for an explanation, but Fuji knew he wanted one, and Fuji needed to talk about it, too.
“You can’t just curse someone to die without repercussions. Especially a group you’ve never met.
“The curse they cast was powerful, and had an equally powerful rebound.
“Witches are prepared for rebounds. They deflect them on to other things. Powerful objects, valuables… animals… the more important, and the closer the item is… it’s the main reason witches have familiars. We exist to take the impact of the rebound from them.
“This curse…. Oh god, Tezuka, the rebound was so powerful, it came for me anyway. It must have… it tore…. It travelled all the way here and hit the guardian tree instead. But Yumiko was right there and-”
Tezuka hugged him. Let him cry more.
Tezuka had seen what happened to the tree. He couldn’t bear imagining what happened to a person.
The power must have come back on and charged his phone, because it rang.
He wrapped the blanket tighter around Syuusuke before going to get it.
“Hello?”
“Hey, um… sorry for yelling at you the other day. This is um, Syuusuke’s brother, Yuuta, and uh-.”
“Syuusuke is safe. He told me everything,” Tezuka cut him off, to save them both the awkward dance around and time.
“Okay…. Okay good.” Tezuka didn’t know Yuuta, but he could tell he was holding back. Perhaps still in shock. “Hey um… my sister sent me an email and she probably sent one to Syuusuke too, tell him to read it okay? And um, thank you… for taking care of my brother these last few days….”
“You’re welcome, and he’s taken care of me too,” Tezuka replied, in all honesty, just a glance at his clean apartment, thinking of all the home cooked meals they’d had… had it really been less than a week?
“Oh… yeah he does that.” Yuuta sounded a little happier hearing it. “Hey um… if… if you don’t mind… I can send money but um… can he stay there like another day? He can’t stay at my dorm, and I don’t think he should go back to my sister’s place…”
“Of course, I’d be happy with that.” Tezuka wasn’t being kind or polite. He really wanted Syuusuke to stay.
“Thanks… thanks really… “ Yuuta sounded so young. “I’ll stop by as soon as I can with stuff for him. Money and a tap card and stuff.”
Tezuka wanted to tell him there was no need for that, but he also felt that Yuuta should come just so the brothers could see each other - even if they weren’t really brothers. But having heard Fuji’s story, Tezuka felt that they were.
“You don’t need to worry about money, but I’m sure he’d like to see you,” Tezuka replied, having thought about what to say.
“... Yeah… yeah he always does…” Yuuta’s voice grew small. “...Can I talk to him now?”
Tezuka handed the phone to Fuji, who’d been watching quietly.
He didn’t know what was being said on the other end, but he could guess.
“Yes, he does,” said Fuji. “He caught me. …. With his hands. … Yes, of course, my clothes fell right off…”
Tezuka suspected that Fuji was doing this on purpose to create misunderstandings, and that Syuusuke enjoyed that, too.
“... No… No, I think it’s fine…. Yuuta please, you know how I …. Okay……. Is Pip…. oh…. That’s good.”
Tezuka went to the kitchen, heating some soup for them to eat and giving Fuji some privacy.
Fuji had moved into the bedroom and closed the door, so Tezuka kept the soup on low. He opened up his laptop, surprised when the first thing that popped up was not his work email, but his Facebook page.
Fuji was not kidding about him having a lot of messages.
He skimmed through them. There were recent ones wishing him a happy birthday. Older ones from college and high school friends trying to reconnect. Some coworkers had sent him friends requests - He hesitated for a moment then decided to accept them.
He needed to stop taking his relationships for granted.
He was not alone. So many had reached out to him.
There were Facebook posts in his feed about the witches.
He clicked on an article from a newspaper he recognized.
It read like an obituary. Four witches had died. He skimmed the names. Fuji Yumiko was among them. Four…. There were pictures. Each of them had one or two animals, standing with them or draped around their shoulders. One had a large yellow python, another a parrot and a finch. One had a dog. Those three were all elderly women, not like Yumiko, who held her staff for the photo, the one in his dream, but had no familiar with her.
There were other witches shown. Over a dozen had been part of the delegation. It sounded like another five were hospitalized - information on how to donate to them was included, and some of the posts he’d seen gave suggestions for what to send. Tezuka couldn’t tell if they were being pitied or treated like heroes.
What had happened to their familiars? There was nothing about them in the articles. Perhaps no one wanted to talk about the grim sacrifice, for those who lived, of their beloved pets and helpers.
Or maybe it was that they were just pets, powerful magical animals, but animals nonetheless. Fuji…. Hyuusuke was human. Tezuka could not see it any other way. And while Fuji might not understand, Tezuka knew Yumiko and Yuuta felt as he did.
He turned off his laptop. Fuji was still in his bedroom with the door closed. Tezuka put his shoes on, deciding it was time to enjoy the sun after not seeing it for so many days.
He wasn’t alone. Everyone was outside, children and joggers and dog walkers. He stopped to look at the apple tree, with so many of its branches stripped and shattered. It still stood, and he could see some branches were still attached, though few apples or leaves were still on it.
A woman stood by it who he didn’t recognize. She was older, with a grim smile on her face, and dyed red hair that reminded him of Yumiko. Her wrinkles and heavier set figure gave her away though, and she looked comfortable in her purple sweats. She had her hands on her hips, and was looking up intently at the tree.
Tezuka went and stood by it as well, clasping his hands together and offering a prayer. He would set up a shrine for the tree, do whatever he could to save it. He knew that tree had saved Fuji’s life - twice.
“My great grandmother planted this tree, when my great grandparents purchased the house that used to be here and moved in,” the woman said, eyes still on the tree, but Tezuka knew she was talking to him. Or maybe she’d just wanted to talk, and he made it so she wasn’t talking to herself. “I wouldn’t let them tear it down, when it was redeveloped into the apartments. It’s a hundred years old, as of last week.”
“You’re the complex owner?” Tezuka bowed respectfully. This apartment was well built and maintained.
She shrugged. “I let Inui handle everything nowadays, I’m more like a tenant at this point.” She finally turned to him, a friendly grin on her face. “I’m Ryuuzaki Sumire, it’s nice to finally meet you, Tezuka Kunimitsu.”
Tezuka kept the surprise off his face, but it made sense that she would recognize him. “The pleasure is mine. You live in the unit next to the Oishi’s, I’ve heard.”
“Ah yes, they must have told you about me. They don’t know I’m the owner though,” she winked at him.
Tezuka nodded. “I understand. Thank you for sharing your story with me.” It occurred to him that she had done so, because he’d come over and offered prayer for the tree. “My grandfather is into bonzai, and has studied trees as well. Would you mind if I invited him to take a look? I would like to help revive it, if possible.”
“Heh… Oishi said you were helpful,” her grin widened. “I heard you have a roommate now?”
Tezuka opened his mouth, then closed it, figuring Eiji had probably already told her everything he knew. “I can pay the difference for a second occupant, apologies for not reporting it sooner.”
She laughed. “Don’t be silly, he just got here right? You can work out the paperwork with Inui once you’re sure he’s gonna stay. I hear he’s a wonderful baker, I’d love to try his apple pie.”
Tezuka pressed his lips together. Of course he hadn’t thought about Fuji as a long term resident, certainly not from a paperwork perspective. But… it would be nice… and he had a feeling Yuuta was right, Fuji shouldn’t live at his sister’s place alone…
“There’s still plenty of apples.” Tezuka placed his hands against the tree bark, feeling one of the many scars along the trunk. It looked bad but was superficial, he realized. “Next year there will be more.”
“Oho, well, I look forward to meeting your grandfather and seeing him work his magic,” she laughed. “I guess I’ll head back in, my granddaughter came with me and must be wondering why her Grandma’s taking so long.”
He bowed to her again, as she turned and left. He wondered why he hadn’t met her all this time.
He looked back up at the sky, feeling a new appreciation for the sight of light blue. It was the same color as Fuji’s eyes.
Perhaps witch magic could also help in saving the tree.
He decided to head inside as well. He paused as he passed the donation bins, and it suddenly occurred to him that Fuji had been wearing a shirt when he’d found him - even though Fuji shouldn’t have had anything with him when he transformed back from being a bat.
He peaked at the bags that had been there for an extra week now.
It was clear they’d been ruffled through.
It must have been the one he’d thrown out himself, with a coffee stain. He didn’t know what Fuji’d done with it, but it was fine if it ended up back in the bin.
It felt nice, thinking he’d helped Fuji before he even met him.
Maybe he should try something other than work, and solitary hobbies like fishing and hiking. Something that let him help people.
For now, though, he wanted to focus on helping Fuji.
He took a deep breath, before opening his apartment door.
Fuji was standing by the table, holding the cell phone in his hand.
“Tezuka, um, may I ask, can I-”
“Please stay here,” Tezuka blurted.
Fuji blinked in surprise at being cut off. “Oh! Um, yes, I was about to ask if I could stay a little longer, at least, until I figure out what to do.”
“Stay as long as you like.” Tezuka reached out to take the phone from him, and ended up holding Fuji’s hands instead. “I can rearrange the living room; order another bed.”
Fuji blushed, and suddenly Tezuka realized what he was doing, and started to let Fuji’s hands go. But then Fuji held his hands where they were.
“Don’t be silly,” Fuji smiled slightly. “Haven’t you realized I turn back into a bat when I fall asleep? I don’t need my own bed. I’ll probably keep waking up in yours.”
Now it was Tezuka’s turn to blush, though he tried very hard to hide it. Fuji was definitely wording things this way on purpose.
Tezuka didn’t know what to say after that, so he just nodded.
“I was thinking of making apple pancakes for breakfast, since I have all the ingredients,” Fuji smiled. “Though I suppose it’s almost lunch time now.”
“I’d like that.” Tezuka never really smiled, not even when he was a child. But something small and unfamiliar was tugging at his lips. “I’ll make coffee.”
They worked together to prepare breakfast, and sat down at the table for their first meal together with sunlight coming through the window.