Chapter Text
Yamaguchi Tadashi had bad luck.
Either that, or he was cursed, but he really preferred the former. He assumed that it was bad luck that had abandoned him on the doorstep of an orphanage the day of his birth; that it was just misfortune each time he was targeted by a townsboy who had everything Tadashi didn’t. And he might’ve been right. To the outside eye, it looked like Tadashi had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time for the past sixteen years. But that wasn’t quite true. Upon closer inspection, simple misfortune couldn’t possibly cover it. Honestly, Tadashi was just too afraid to consider the alternative answer, since he really didn’t want to be cursed.
That’s why, after hours on end of washing bedding and cleaning rooms at the local inn, Tadashi wasn’t all too surprised that his bad luck resulted in his encountering one of the prime tormentors of his youth on his walk back home.
It had been a while since he was that skinny kid with no confidence or muscle definition on the daily receiving end of the violent frustration of others. While the bullying had dwindled as he’d matured and become harder to shove around, it didn’t stop the dirty looks or sneers that he received around town from those who used to torment him.
In particular, it didn’t stop this certain boy from snaring his ankle around Tadashi’s as he passed, causing him to stumble and fall, banging his knee sharply on the cobblestone path with a hiss of pain. As the boy began to spit out the standard insults, Tadashi couldn’t help but close his eyes with a sigh, blocking out the verbal assault as best he could. Just the usual nasty things about Tadashi’s looks, his family (or lack thereof), his upbringing. However, before the boy could take another step towards where Tadashi was slumped over, a tall silhouette appeared at the mouth of the alleyway.
“Hey,” it commanded, as the bully jerked to look towards the side. “Get out of here,” was all it had to say before whatever insult the boy was about to throw died in his throat at the sheer height of the newcomer. Though a teenager’s pride kept him from showing any signs of intimidation; and he merely shrugged and slinked away.
At the sound of retreating footsteps, Tadashi unfurled from his position on the ground and leaned back against the brick wall of the alleyway to roll up the hem of his yukata and assess the damage from his fall. Even through the fabric, he managed to gash his knee on the uneven walkway.
“Are you alright?”
Tadashi finally looked up to see Tsukishima standing over him, his permanently aloof look now subtly tinged by concern and anger.
“Mostly,” Tadashi said in return.
“Come on,” Tsukishima sighed and lowered his hand to help Tadashi to his feet. “Let’s go home.”
Though Tsukishima might have seemed cold and disinterested, and while any outward observer would have missed it; Tadashi noticed how closely Tsukishima watched as he made sure that Tadashi’s knee would bear his weight. Then, once he was satisfied his friend wouldn’t crumple back to the ground, he set them off at a slow pace back to the orphanage.
They walked in silence for a while before Tsukishima commented, “You’re not going to be able to keep working at the inn in that shape.”
“It’ll be fine by tomorrow.”
Tsukishima looked doubtful, but he knew Tadashi’s pride would keep him upright long enough to do whatever he needed to do. The orphanage they both called home was ancient, its internal beams close to crumbling, but whenever something broke or a length of cloth was needed for the children’s clothing, the town provided. In return, the older kids completed jobs around the town.
When they had turned sixteen, Tadashi began working at the local inn, while Tsukishima tutored the other orphans and the children of the more wealthy merchants and farmers in town. And though the town provided, Tadashi would never jeopardize the orphanage’s tenuous connections by shirking his work over something as small as a bruised knee. After all, he’d had much worse over the years. And Tadashi certainly would never let a teenager with a little misplaced rage keep him from his duty to provide for his family. So Tsukishima didn’t press. Instead he simply slowed their pace as much as possible (which was difficult for him as his natural stride was so much longer than that of most people).
As they approached the orphanage, the shouting and laughter of the younger children rang through the open courtyard. And when Tsukishima opened the rusted gate and they stepped onto the property, a few of the kids shrieked with joy and came running their way.
Tsukishima was surprisingly popular amongst the grade school kids, since he was the only tutor who let them play pranks without reporting them to the matron. Tadashi, on the other hand, usually watched the youngest kids—who were more swayed by candy than pranks.
Despite the initial rush of excitement following their return from work, seven-year-old Hifumi and four-year-old Nozomi were the only ones to reach them without getting distracted on the way.
Nozomi ran directly into Tadashi, nearly knocking him off balance, and eagerly clung to his leg—luckily not the one with blood beginning to seep through his yukata.
“Good evening, Nozomi-chan,” he said, smiling down at her.
“Evening!” she replied cheerfully. Then, as she began babbling about her day, Tadashi carefully brushed her messy black hair from her forehead and glanced over to his friend.
Tsukishima had knelt down as soon as Hifumi had run up to him to let the child whisper conspiratorially in his ear. Tsukishima smirked slightly at whatever the child had said, and he looked around to be sure none of the older kids would see him being too soft before he ruffled Hifumi’s hair. “Make sure she doesn’t find out that was you,” he said before standing back up and fixing his diligent-tutor facade in place with a frown. “Did you do the arithmetic I assigned you?”
Hifumi’s grin fell, and he answered with an unconvincing, “Yeees. I did it with Hinata last night.”
“That would’ve been more believable if you had named literally anyone else.” Tsukishima shook his head and pointed back towards the building. “I want it done before our lesson, go on,” he instructed and Hifumi let out an exaggerated groan, but he began back towards the building to do as he was told.
Tsukishima stood back up after the boy’s departure and looked down at Nozomi who had manuerved from Tadashi’s knee to sit on his foot as she requested, “Carry me back Tadashi-kun?”
While Tadashi wanted to oblige, Nozomi was no longer a light-weighted toddler—and with the pain in his knee he wasn’t sure he could drag her back on his foot in his state. Tsukishima noticed his hesitation and held his hand down to the small girl. “Want to ride on my shoulders?” he asked, kneeling back down to her level.
She clambered off of Tadashi’s foot faster than he’d ever seen a child move.
Tadashi watched Tsukishima stand back up, his hands holding Nozomi’s ankles tight so she wouldn’t topple backwards as she began to play with his curly blond hair with a cheeky grin. For the first few moments Tadashi held his hands out in case Tsukishima stumbled. But just as he was finally content that his lanky friend wouldn’t drop the girl, and he lowered his hands, one of the matrons of the orphanage called, “Tadashi-kun,” from across the yard.
“Do you have this handled?” he asked, and after Tsukishima nodded and Nozomi waved him away cheerily, he ran over to greet the matron of the orphanage. She smiled at him and lifted a child from her lap, standing up to meet him halfway across the yard.
Kokoro was young for a matron, but she’d been a resident in the orphanage since before Tadashi was an infant, and never left after she came of age. Due to this, she’d seen how he’d been treated by the boys in town throughout his whole childhood. She recognized the signs of a new injury, no matter how hard he tried to mask any indications of pain in front of the children. “Are you alright, Tadashi-kun?” she asked.
“I’m alright,” he replied, a sheepish smile slipping easily into place. Her eyes softened slightly at the lie, trailing downwards pointedly to where a slight trickle of blood was steadily dripping from his ankle onto the dirt of the courtyard.
“I’m going to ask Tobio-kun to take over your job in town for a while,” she said. “He’s terrible at tailory anyway.”
Tadashi was about to object but paused as she lightly touched his shoulder.
“Don’t push yourself. You know you don’t deserve the way they treat you, but you don’t have to subject yourself to it either. Please just work with Hitoka-chan for a while. Let yourself recover.”
For as long as Tadashi could remember, Kokoro had never raised her voice at anyone; but he remembered so clearly the anger and devastation in her eyes the first time he’d come home covered in bruises. He owed her enough to keep her from feeling that way again. “Alright,” Tadashi conceded and Kokoro smiled at him.
“Alright,” she repeated. “Go catch up with Kei-kun, there should still be food in the kitchen for you both.”
Tadashi bowed and put a little more effort into masking his limp as he walked into the main room just as Tsukishima set Nozomi down. Watching as she scampered off to find her usual playmates, Tsukki stretched out his back with a groan. Noticing Tadashi, he nodded his head towards the kitchen, “Let’s eat.”
As they entered the kitchen, Hinata greeted them with a blinding smile as he untied his apron. “You’re late!” he exclaimed with his usual boundless energy. Though he couldn’t hope to match Hinata’s enthusiasm after such a long day in town, Tadashi managed a small grin in response.
“We got held up on the way here,” Tsukishima answered vaguely as Hinata dished up the last three plates for the night. He handed two to Tsukki and Tadashi and extinguished the fire under the pot before he followed them out of the kitchen.
The common area was normally bustling, the worn-down and heat-weathered tables normally filled by rowdy children. But now the dimly lit room was fairly deserted as most of the kids had already eaten and were off enjoying the late summer afternoon. They found their usual seats in the corner easily.
However, just as Tsukishima moved to take a bite, Kageyama sat down beside him and bumped his shoulder, knocking Tsukishima’s rice off of his chopsticks. Tsukishima shot him a glare, which Kageyama easily ignored as Yachi sat down between Hinata and Tadashi.
The two of them were charged with tailoring and altering clothing for the orphanage and had finished early enough to have already eaten, but with the other three working their individual jobs, evenings were the only time they could sit together as they had throughout their childhoods.
“Are we still going?” Kageyama asked as Tsukishima thoughtfully chewed his food.
The Obon festival had begun the night before, and while honoring the dead was important, Hinata, Yachi, and Tadashi had no one to honor. Their friends, however, with very different circumstances, always made time to visit the festival each year.
While kids like Tadashi, Hinata, and Yachi had never had a family or a life outside of the orphanage, kids like Tsukishima and Kageyama did.
They both arrived at the orphanage at eleven years old—only a few months apart—during the famine that had swept through the region, decimating families along the way.
Tadashi still remembered how thin the older kids had gotten after sacrificing meals for their juniors, day after day. But as bad things always must, the famine passed. The older kids had grown up and moved into their new lives, and new generations filled the beds they left behind. Now, after sixteen years in the orphanage, Tadashi, Yachi, and Hinata were the children who’d been there the longest. But the five of them together held the responsibility of providing safety to the children.
“Yes,” Tsukishima replied simply to Kageyama before blowing on his food and taking another bite. As the quiet pair on that side of the table ended their conversation after five words, the noisier trio filled the space with giggles as they began sharing the events of their days.
“Be safe!” Yachi called after Tsukishima and Kageyama as they departed the orphanage. Soon enough all they could make out was their lanterns disappearing over the hill.
“Should we do something while they’re out?” Hinata asked, shutting the heavy door behind them.
“Shogi?” Yachi suggested. Hinata stuck out his tongue at the suggestion, which was to be expected given his lack of skill in the game.
Though before he could suggest a physical activity, Tadashi turned to Yachi. “Kokoro-san is actually asking me to start working on tailory with you,” Tadashi said to her. “Do you mind giving me tips?”
“Not at all!” she chirped.
Hinata sighed as it became clear they wouldn’t be doing anything fun while Tsukishima and Kageyama paid their respects. “Grab me needles too, then,” he requested and left to grab the blanket he’d been patching back together after an incident with the toddlers.
Yachi also left the room to fetch the sewing supplies from the cabinet; and left alone, Tadashi pulled up the hem of his yukata to look at the scabs beginning to form. This would be a good change , he thought to himself before once again hiding the evidence of the assault. Then he slapped his cheeks and shook his head to get out of his mind before Yachi returned with the supplies.
Stealing lanterns from around the room to congregate around their chairs, they worked in a pleasant quiet as Yachi occasionally offered critiques of Tadashi’s work on altering the children’s kimonos.
It wasn’t often that it was just the three of them anymore. Since Kageyama and Tsukishima had arrived, their little family had grown, and it was a welcome change. Now it just seemed strange—like a callback to the loneliness that had fallen over them even when they were together. Tsukishima and Kageyama had brought a new life into their childhoods.
“Here,” Yachi said, interrupting his thoughts as she pointed to her own handiwork. “When you get to the collar, you want to fold the material inwards like—”
She was cut off by the creaking of the roof overhead and an echoing wail from outside.
“What was that? ” Hinata asked, as Tadashi looked up from his poorly threaded sleeve.
The three of them glanced between themselves before Hinata stood up, closely followed by Tadashi and Yachi, and approached the front entrance. They swung the door open and Hinata stepped outside first, though there was no one near the front of the building.
“Let’s check the sides,” Hinata suggested, and headed left with Yachi while Tadashi walked to the right.
Tadashi cautiously peeked around the corner, but when he saw nothing there, he sighed with relief. He really didn’t know what he could even do if there was an intruder. But when he turned to shout to the others, something skittered by in his peripheral. He swung back around and squinted into the darkness, but there was nothing he could see hiding in the shadows. He furrowed his brow but shook his head. Probably just a stray.
Tadashi turned back and met the others at the entrance with a shrug. “No one over there,” he said.
“Nothing on our side either,” Hinata replied.
“Let’s assume wind,” Yachi said to give the group some peace of mind, and the others nodded before following her back inside. But while Yachi and Hinata headed back towards the common area, Tadashi pointed towards the bedrooms. “I’m going to head to bed, I think. Long day.”
“Sleep well,” Hinata said, and Tadashi nodded. He walked back to the room he shared with the other boys his age, and stood in front of the mirror as he painstakingly wrapped a cloth he’d stolen from the tailory pile around his wounded knee.
While Tsukishima obviously knew he was still occasionally targeted by the village boys, Hinata believed he’d put an end to that with the massive brawl he’d initiated a few years back. Tadashi didn’t know what Hinata would do to them now, and figured the safest bet was to keep quiet. Tsukishima didn’t like that any more than Hinata would, but he was better about respecting Tadashi’s decisions.
Though before Tadashi could walk back to his bed to change clothes, he heard the same noise as before—a strange breathy wail—and a very human scream. Then he was knocked flat on his back.
There was a heavy weight on his chest, Tadashi realized first. Then he realized that his arms were pinned down, and that he was very hot.
“Yamaguchi!” he heard someone shout from somewhere nearby. He groaned and forced himself to open his eyes. He supposed he should have noticed the fire earlier by the crackling of embers and splintering of burnt wood, but he would just blame that on the concussion he certainly had. “Yamaguchi!” the voice came again, and he tilted his head backwards to see a tall figure outlined in red.
“Tsukki?” he managed to wheeze out; and suddenly Tsukishima was kneeling by his side.
“Yeah, it’s me,” he managed before coughing. His tunic was pulled up to cover his nose and mouth to filter out some of the smoke, but he had to let go to free both of his hands. Then he reached under the beam that had fallen from the ceiling and pinned Tadashi to the ground. He cursed as the wood burnt his hands, and he struggled to raise it even a few centimeters. “Come on,” he groaned, and Tadashi forced himself free, crawling out from under the beam as quickly as he could before Tsukishima let the smoldering wood drop once more. “Can you stand?” he asked, pulling his tunic back over his face.
Tadashi did the same as he looked down at his leg. His right calf was badly burned, and his already injured knee ached even worse from the force at which he’d been knocked down, but he nodded and forced himself to his feet. When he nearly toppled back over, Tsukishima gripped his arm tightly, pulling it over his own shoulder as he helped Tadashi hobble across the floor.
They stepped out of the bedroom and the sound of distant crying ripped his heart from his chest. He whipped around to see the weight-bearing pillar in the hallway had collapsed, and fragments of the roof along with it, blocking the hallway to the wing housing the younger children. He tried to pull away from Tsukishima, but Tsukki’s grip on his wrist tightened. “I tried,” he said, voice hoarse. “We can’t move it.”
“But—” Tadashi tried to protest, but he was already being dragged away from the rubble.
“I’m sorry,” Tsukishima said, hardly audible over the panic setting into Tadashi’s bones.
Another beam overhead threatened to fall, but Tsukishima was fast and pulled Tadashi from the burning building. The moment they made it to fresh air, Tadashi began coughing. His arm slipped from Tsukishima’s shoulder and he fell to the ground.
Once he finally managed to catch his breath, he looked up to his friend who was staring into the flames, hand twitching as though he wanted to run back inside. “Hinata? The others?” he rasped, and Tsukishima startled from his trance.
He looked down to Tadashi and shook his head minutely.
“No,” Tadashi whispered. He tried to stand once more, but his legs couldn’t bear his weight.
“Stay,” Tsukishima said, setting his hand on Tadashi’s shoulder. “There’s nothing you can do. You’ll just get yourself killed.”
“You were out. You and Kageyama—you should’ve stayed out.”
“We weren’t going to leave you there,” Tsukishima said sharply, glaring down at Tadashi. “We weren’t going to leave any of you.”
Tadashi wanted to argue, but the smoke still trapped in his lungs interrupted and he coughed again. In the short time his eyes were closed, he felt the hand lift from his shoulder and heard Tsukishima’s footsteps departing. When he looked back up, he saw Tsukishima running back towards the building. “Tsukki!” Tadashi yelled, unable to accept watching Tsukishima run back into harm’s way without him.
But when he squinted, he saw Tsukishima hadn’t run farther than the doorway, where Kageyama had emerged from, Yachi hanging off of his left shoulder and Hinata from his right.
Tsukishima moved in to lend a hand, and Kageyama let him take Yachi’s arm so he could focus on the unconscious Hinata. When Tsukishima returned to Tadashi’s side and slowly lowered Yachi to the ground beside him, Tadashi didn’t even give her the chance to catch her breath before he pulled her into a tight hug.
“I’m alright,” she whispered, her strength to return the hug not extending past resting a hand on his back.
They all watched as Kageyama carefully set Hinata on the ground before shaking his shoulders. “Hey,” he said, voice trembling from fear or exertion, or both. “Wake up, moron. Hey!” He slapped Hinata across the face and Tadashi winced, but Hinata’s eyes fluttered and he groaned.
A wave of relief crashed over them all, but it quickly dissipated when the orphanage let out a horrendous creak. Tadashi looked up and watched the building that had been his home for 16 years—filled with those who’d grown up beside him and those who’d raised him—collapse in on itself.
To say the absolute least, Yamaguchi Tadashi had very bad luck.
~~~
Tadashi worked silently beside Yachi as they carefully wove the silk threads through the reel. It was a skill they’d sharpened the past two years, as they moved from town to town. They were both rather good at it, really. If they’d wanted, they could get a permanent job at any of the places they passed through. Tsukishima’s skill set as a tutor would allow him to settle anywhere easily, and people with strength like Hinata and Kageyama could always find physical work around the towns—sowing fields, repairing buildings, caring for horses.
But they couldn’t settle in. They’d been on the move since the orphanage had burned down. They’d learned early on that the longer they stayed in one place, the more unwanted attention they drew.
Tadashi had dealt with his fair share of unwanted attention in his life. Growing up, he’d been an easy target for the children in the villages surrounding the orphanage for the way he dressed, and his scrawny looks and nonconfrontational personality. But his seamster hands and skill set meant he was dressed as respectably as a peasant could be, and he’d only grown in strength and confidence since his youth. (And, while he wouldn’t be the one to point it out, or even believe it, he had grown far more handsome in the time that passed as well.)
So the attention they drew now wasn’t from prepubescent bullies. No, the longer they remained in a town, the more shadows seemed to gather in the corner of his vision.
He was the only one to notice, at first—the only one to push the group to keep moving, only to hear a few days later that their lodgings had been ransacked. But Hinata began to pick up on it next—as did Yachi. Kageyama and Tsukishima never saw what they did, but they heard the same accounts, and realized it was safest for Tadashi, Yachi, and Hinata to keep moving. And there was no way they were willing to leave them to deal with it on their own, so the group moved consistently—steadily making their way south through the long island.
The memories of being weighed down under a burning building never faded completely, but Tadashi was able to accept what happened now. He just didn’t understand why misfortunes seemed to follow them wherever they went.
“Yamaguchi,” Yachi said, startling him out of his rapidly darkening thoughts.
“Hmm?” he asked, looking up at her.
“It’s time to wrap up for the day,” she said as she threw her bag over her shoulder.
“Oh.” He looked down to see the basket of thread they’d been working with was empty and his sheet of silk nearly finished. “Okay.” He stood up and pulled the sheet from the reel before folding it neatly and draping it over his chair before following her from the building. They bowed politely to the other workers whose names they wouldn’t learn before they had to move on, and started off down the unfamiliar street.
“Are you alright?” Yachi asked, bumping his shoulder lightly. “You’ve been kind of out of it today.”
“Just another nightmare,” he said, sighing slightly. Then he hesitated before asking, “Have you noticed them?”
Yachi paused. Tadashi wondered whether he needed to clarify, but she knew he meant the shadows and glanced around. “I haven’t yet,” she answered. “Is it time for us to move on?”
Tadashi shook his head. “I haven’t seen them yet either. I just feel like… there’s something there. I’m probably just paranoid from my dream.”
Yachi hummed slightly before she linked her arm through his. “Come on. It’s our night to cook,” she said and rushed him along until they reached the plaza in the center of town and veered left towards the small inn, where they resided on the top floor. After climbing the rickety stairs, they entered their small room to see Tsukishima stretched out on the floor.
“Hi, Tsukki,” Tadashi said. “How was work?”
“Were we that exhausting as twelve-year-olds?” he answered with a question, not opening his eyes. Tadashi and Yachi just laughed at him before walking to the small stove and lighting the fire.
“Are Hinata and Kageyama not back yet?” Yachi asked and Tsukishima sighed as he sat up off of the floor.
“No, but I passed by the field on my way home and they were just wrapping up the sowing for the day.” He met them by the stove. “Do you need anything?”
Yachi checked the pitcher sitting on the counter to find it nearly empty. She dumped the remaining water into the pot before holding it out to the boys. “Could one of you refill this?”
Tadashi watched Tsukishima cringe at the thought of descending the stairs again, so he shook his head with a fond smile and took the pitcher in his place. “You chop the vegetables, then,” he told Tsukishima as he left the room.
It didn’t take him long to fill the pitcher from the well in the center of the plaza, but as he was walking back to the inn, the muddy Hinata and Kageyama were just making their way back from the field.
“It’s not that I wouldn’t,” Kageyama responded dryly to whatever Hinata was teasing him about. “I just don’t see that ever happening, so why should I consider it?”
“Consider what?” Tadashi asked, falling into step beside them as they approached the inn and began up the stairs.
“Yamaguchi!” Hinata exclaimed. “Would you seduce a noble for financial profit?”
“What the fuck?” Tadashi asked.
Hinata just laughed, his humor having grown more salacious since they were young. “My only issue with it is, if I could seduce someone, could I persuade them to support the rest of you guys too.”
“You’d have to be a really good seducter to be worth an extra four freeloaders.”
“Right, but look at Kageyama, he could be right? He’s so tall and muscular.”
“It’s just not ever going to happen,” Kageyama said.
“But you would consider it if it was?” Tadashi asked, incredulous that he wouldn’t reject the possibility immediately.
Kageyama didn’t get the chance to answer however, since they opened the door and were met with a gasp the moment the newcomers were made visible to the blondes in the kitchen.
“Oh my god, you’re filthy,” Tsukishima said the moment they walked inside.
Yachi turned around and blanched. “Don’t come in here like that!” she ordered. “You have to bathe before I’m feeding either of you!”
Hinata and Kageyama grumbled slightly, but turned back around to head towards the inn bath while Tadashi brought Yachi the pitcher.
“What are you smiling about?” Tsukishima asked as Tadashi took over his place in the kitchen,to slice the remaining vegetables.
Tadashi just shook his head. “I’m just thankful that they haven’t changed,” he said.
Dinner was ready by the time they heard the racing footsteps of Kageyama and Hinata up the stairs, returning from the bath; and they all settled in on their knees around the table. The room was warm with their laughter, but that faded slightly when Tsukishima bumped his knee and asked, “Did you get up in the middle of the night again?” under the cover of the heated conversation of the others.
Tadashi sighed and set his chopsticks down. “Yeah,” he answered. He could never calm himself down from a nightmare unless he was certain everyone was alright. And if that meant creeping around the room to make sure everyone was still breathing without waking the others, then so be it.
Tsukki bumped his knee again. “It’s okay to wake me up when that happens. Or any of us. You don’t have to deal with your nightmares alone.”
Tadashi let out a deep breath. “I know,” he said, staring down at his plate. “We’re coming up on the anniversary of the fire though, and it’s just bringing everything back.”
He blinked as another dumpling was added to his bowl, and he looked up to see the others looking at him too and Kageyama’s chopsticks extended over his plate. “Even more reason to talk to us,” he said, before loading a second dumpling on top of the first.
“If anyone knows what you’re going through, it’s us,” Yachi said softly.
Tadashi hesitated. He knew they were right—that they all felt the loss just as deeply as he had. He just couldn’t shake the feeling that it had been his fault—the result of his bad luck.
Then he was slapped on the back by Hinata. “You’re allowed to rely on others,” he said, his mouth half-full of food.
Those words would mean the world to Tadashi when he was able to process them, but he started coughing from the blow between his shoulders that had shaken his lungs. “Damn, Hinata. You need to pull your punches,” Tadashi wheezed.
The others just laughed and Tadashi sat upright again once he caught his breath. And, surrounded by the people who loved him most, Tadashi let himself relax. It was fine. They were still fine.
~~~
Still, Tadashi woke up in a cold sweat hours later, reaching for the dagger he kept sheathed beside his bed. But as he squinted through the dark room and his eyes adjusted to the dimness, the imaginary shadows obediently crawled back into the corners of the room.
Once he was satisfied that nothing was out of the ordinary, he let his dagger fall against his chest as he rested his head back against the pillow to catch his breath.
He still had nightmares about the orphanage, and he was sure he always would have. But this time, he could have sworn he heard that same wail—felt the same shiver of fear.
He considered waking Tsukishima, but even though he’d been told it was alright, he couldn’t bear to steal sleep from his friends—not with how hard they all worked.
He would have to put his mind at ease on his own.
With a soft sigh, he stood up from the shared bed, careful not to wake Hinata, and walked quietly from the room and down the old staircase until he made it to the front door of the inn.
The moon had already sunk beneath the horizon, so he was sure dawn was coming soon. But it was still too dark for him to see much. Regardless, he stepped outside into the early morning and looked across the plaza. Then he followed the feeling of the brick wall against his hand as he circled the inn, making sure nothing was stalking their place of residence.
When he reached the last side of the building, he finally relaxed. He hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary, and his feet were growing cold against the stone path. He sighed at himself and was about to return to bed when the sound that still haunted him returned. That ominous wail followed by the crackling of dry wood catching flame. His heart immediately burned his throat and he screamed upwards, “Fire!” hoping he was loud enough to wake the residents before turning to sprint back into the inn to try to warn his friends.
He’d only made it a few steps before something caught his foot and he stumbled forwards, scraping his chin on the stone beneath him. He knew there was someone behind him—he knew they likely wanted to do him harm, but his concern was in the topmost room of the inn. He gained his footing back and scrambled back to his feet to sprint forwards, but a shadow was blocking the entrance to the alleyway. When Tadashi turned around to seek another way out, he did reveal someone behind him, caging him in.
“I have no money,” he said to the shadow in front of him. “Please move, I have to help evacuate the inn.”
“We’re not after your money,” the assailant behind him said. “We’re after you.”
Tadashi tensed and shook his head. “You have the wrong person, I’m a travelling peasant—”
“But you didn’t travel fast enough this time,” the second said and Tadashi watched him remove his hood to reveal a tattoo of a third eye in the center of his forehead and a club hidden under the folds of his kimono. If the sound of a weapon swinging behind him was any cue, the man behind him held a club as well.
They were oni.
Tadashi reached into his own kimono to unsheathe his dagger and held it in front of him. “I don’t know what you want from me. But I don’t have the time to give it to you. Get out of my way.”
The oni in front of him just laughed before he began charging down the alley towards Tadashi.
Tadashi readied himself, also listening for the attack surely coming from behind him, and the moment the club was brought down, he dodged to the right and jumped forwards, burying his knife into the side of the demon. The demon hissed at him as he jerked his knife back out, and as he tried to run past him and towards the main street, he felt a searing pain in his leg as the oni behind him brought down his own club.
Though given that he could still stand, the club clearly hadn’t hit the bone. A glance downwards showed that one of the spikes from his club had sliced through his calf. Tadashi managed to catch the second demon in the arm with his dagger before he could bring down his club once more and skittered out of the alley before he could be hit again.
He sprinted towards the front door of the inn only for a third spirit to step out from under the stoop and Tadashi nearly choked on his fear. He didn’t know what type of spirit this was, towering over him—but he knew he couldn’t fight it, and with the footsteps from the two oni growing closer, Tadashi had no other choice but to keep running.
If he could lose them in the town, he could circle back around to the inn, he thought desperately.
He could only hope that he would make it back in time.
Though he couldn’t seem to lose them. The two oni were right on his tail no matter how many turns he made, and he was sure the other spirit was following as well—he could sense the bloodlust poking at the corners of his mind.
Eventually, he ran out of corners to turn and alleys to trespass and found himself facing the open expanse of the cemetery just outside the town. He cursed but sprinted over the boundary separating the town from the lines upon lines of graves.
He stumbled into the grassy patch on his bleeding leg and stopped momentarily, leaning heavily on a tree to try to catch his breath. In his condition, he didn’t think he could keep outrunning them for long.
Though when he turned back around, he saw the two oni, and a tall shadow between the two, standing deadly still at the edge of the town.
He waited for them to follow, the pounding of his heart causing his leg to bleed faster; but they didn’t move. They stood directly between him and the only people in the world that he cared about, weapons brandished, and ready to take him down. But, as though they couldn’t cross the boundary of the cemetery, they didn’t move. Not until the early morning sun breached the horizon, and in the blink of an eye, they vanished.
At their disappearance, relief flooded his body and he fell to the ground, choking on the sob of terror he’d been holding back. Stop , he chastised himself. You don’t get to lose it here .
He slowly steadied his breathing before he took his knife to his tunic and cut a strip from the bottom so he could carefully bandage his leg. He stood up, tentatively putting weight back onto his injured leg. He grimaced. It hurt, but he could bear it. His priorities didn’t lie with himself right now. Rather than a straight shot back through the cemetery and into the town, he walked diagonally through the graves, tripping consistently over the overgrown foliage.
When he reached the outskirts of town, he rushed silently through the empty alleyways until he found the inn.
There was still the crackling of embers, but the fire had been put out. It hadn’t spread to any other buildings, Tadashi realized with some relief before treading carefully to the collapsed entrance. He was nearly certain Hinata had gotten the others out on time. No matter how bad Tadashi’s luck was, Hinata made up for it with sheer willpower.
“What are you doing back here?” came a woman’s voice from behind him.
Tadashi turned around to see the innkeeper and bowed. “Ma’am. Did everyone escape the fire?” he asked, stumbling over his words in a vain effort to get to the answer he sought quicker.
“Yes. With no thanks to you all—now get out of here!”
Tadashi blinked, unsure of what she meant and took a step backwards. “So, my companions—?”
“Get out!”
“I’m just looking for—”
“They’re not here! Now out!” the woman screamed, and he took another step back, heart pounding. “Out of the town!” she said when he didn’t immediately leave the plaza. Then she threw an ofuda charm at him, which landed by his feet. “We don’t need yokai haunting this town.”
Tadashi felt his heart shudder. He’d suspected for some time that he was the cause of the attacks through some curse that lured them in—perhaps why he was abandoned as an infant. But he’d never wanted to face that reality—he didn’t want to be the reason people were hurt. He bowed deeply to the woman once more before turning around. He stumbled over his injured leg, but he gritted his teeth and began to run from the town.
If they weren’t in the town any longer, maybe they’d escaped into the forest too.
He began walking deeper into the forest, but he could only walk so far on his injured leg, and he had to sit down. He hugged his legs to his chest to rest his head on his knees. And because he couldn’t hold it in any longer, he began to cry.
He let himself feel sorry for as long as it took for his leg to stop aching so horribly that he couldn’t think of anything else. Then he steeled his nerves and forced himself to his feet. The day was still young. If he moved fast enough, he should be able to make it to the next city by nightfall the following day.
But that was wishful thinking.
Of course he couldn’t move fast enough. After all, Yamaguchi Tadashi had terrible luck.
He’d walked through the night, and he was so deep into the forest he wasn’t sure he was still headed in the direction of the town he’d originally set his path for. All he was sure of was that he was in pain, and hungry, and utterly exhausted.
So when he spotted the shrine through the dense woodland, he felt relief so deep in his soul that his throat constricted from the overflow of emotions. He knew that the shrine’s blessed water wouldn’t rid him of the curse he’d been stuck with since birth, but it would ease his soul a bit, and help him find some rest for the night.
He’d only just begun walking towards the purification trough when a voice came from behind him.
“Hey handsome,” it called.
Tadashi whipped around and his eyes widened. At first glance, this newcomer looked human, but as the man stepped forward, it became clear he was not. Mere steps away from the shrine—the source of his power—there was no possible way he could conceal his true nature. A full-blooded Kitsune stood before him, his smile filled with too-sharp teeth, with his very presence making the air feel thicker. “What are ya doin’ all the way out here?”
Yamaguchi Tadashi had really bad luck.