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The rice fields radiated a sense of calm purity as the sun gently touched upon each individual blade of grass. They were left virtually unharmed from the ravaging floods that had encompassed Ihatov just the night before.
Kenji couldn’t have said the same for the quaint farmhouse that his best friend had grown up in. The fragments of wood that once formed a ridged roof were now destroyed in scattered pieces in the ground beneath his feet. His feet dug absentmindedly in the ground as rage bubbled over within his soul.
The mountainous landscape that his dearest friend once woke up to each morning was now split apart down the middle.
In retrospect, the storm was a predictable event, one that had loomed over his delicate blonde head for the past 14 years of his existence. The true implications of the destruction was left to the discretion of the adults, Kenji had never understood their warnings.
The history of his village ran deep, his head was already filled with the folklore that was exchanged happily through dance and song, he wasn’t particularly fixated on the looming threat of heavy floods. It wasn’t until the frantic cries of his neighbors rang out into his ears, begging for him to stop the flooding, that the responsibility his birthright handed to him truly set in.
It wasn’t common for abilities to emerge in the deeper parts of the countryside, he was a miracle baby that was both praised and revered for his skills. Kenji was merely grateful that he could be of usage to those that he loved. He never would have imagined that his gift would have morphed into this disgusting creature.
The life of ignorance that he had lived in before, the boy who was burdened only with the troubles of farming, disappeared in the fraction of a second once the flood waters burst through the southern part of his village.
The lone source of his sanity was in the teachings of his family. The Miyazawa Motto, while primarily centered on cows, applied to every aspect of Kenji’s life. He learned to view the world in halves, yet he always struggled to understand the brutality in nature when it came to his ability.
He knew that the worst of storms could provide fruition to fields, he could always forgive the world for its transgressions. Ihatov wouldn’t have its blood flowing through the veins of the earth if it weren’t for purposeful violence, Kenji knew this very well.
Kenji had the power of unrestrained nature, it left him terrified once it had begun to take over his body in his youth. The origins of his ability were unknown to the people of Ihatov, neither of his parents had been users and there wasn’t anyone with a similar quirk in the prefecture. His understanding of his power was limited, nobody was able to teach him how to be.
It didn’t help that his memory blanked whenever it took to controlling him. It was difficult to forgive his ability when he was treated like a pointless marionette.
If he had the opportunity to have an honest conversation with it, figure out why it hides so much from him, he feels as though the piece of him that’s missing would be mended.
The conversation that Kenji was willing to place his life on may be able to give him the one thing he never could get here - complete understanding. The tainted version of his ability was only ever mentioned in passing, or in prayer, by the others in Ihatov. He’d never reach freedom on this path.
He lived in an odd bubble, the actual nature of himself was kept hidden away from himself and those who he lived beside. The true disconnect that he felt with those around him rang out in his heart. He’d always have a home here but he had lost the key to it somewhere on the way.
His friend had been the only one willing to lend an ear to listen, even if he would never understand him, he was always there to support him when he couldn’t remember anything.
He missed the simplicity of his previous life. Kenji could hardly taste the memories of the sweet berries and bugs they’d eat together whenever they were allowed to take a break from tending the cattle herds.
The warmth that flooded him left him with a sense of peace, only for that to be brutally stripped at the mere sight of the crimson stained limbs poking out from the wood.
His beloved friend’s corpse sprawled out from underneath was enough to make the poorly concealed tears pour out with a desperate intensity. His mouth filled itself with an ivory flavor that he recognized all too well.
The taste brought him closer to the boy below him. His body looked as though the wood itself had taken to torturing him. There was water dripping across it, the pangs of the droplets that hit the ground gradually matched with Kenji’s heartbeat.
Kenji brought his hand up to his chest, checking to see if he was still alive, the beating of his heart was rapid but undeniably concrete. He didn’t know if he felt comforted by his life.
The grief threatened to devour him whole as he resisted giving into the sensations of his ability, vaguely recognizing the damage it had caused to Ihatov as ragged breaths were forced out of him. Flickers of his blinded rage tormented him as he stared at the body. He grunted as he resisted the calling of his ability, beckoning him to just go one step further.
There was a memory on the tip of his tongue that refused to lay itself bare to Kenji. It was the most disturbing component of his ability yet nobody in the village was willing to whisper the truth to him. His friend was never able to completely piece it together either.
Looking at the body now, the truth was abundantly clear, it wasn’t possible for it to be done by water alone. Kenji looked down numbly at his hands, beginning to see blood that wasn’t there resting on his palms.
Was he the one who did this? He wanted to question his ability but he knew there wouldn’t be a reply.
His friend’s body was bruised and covered in cuts, his insides were even visible from the angle that Kenji was standing at. He didn’t want to imagine what he could have possibly done to leave his friend in such a state. The memories weren’t there for him to see and it felt wrong to look at him now.
Kenji had been the one to put his friend under this misfortune. He trusted his intuition, there was no other viable explanation to justify the torture that was enacted on his behalf.
A strangled cry made its way out of Kenji’s throat, he became desperate to join his friend right where he laid in the ground. The youthful purity that once clung to him was stripped the moment he was able to face the truth behind his friend’s untimely death.
His hand instantly shot up to cover his mouth and prevent the flow of bile that was about to pour helplessly onto the ground. The disoriented appearance of his beloved friend’s corpse left him sick to his stomach. His heart raced rapidly, as if it was about to push out of his chest, and tears pooled in his eyes out of fear.
Standing over the tortured corpse of his deceased friend was an odd experience. It compelled Kenji to take his hand and hold it roughly against his own chest, just to feel if he was alive. He didn’t feel comforted by his heartbeat as he typically was whenever he came down from an incident regarding his ability.
The relationship that he held with it was complex, his friend was the only one who could follow along with his train of thought. That lifeline was now buried underneath the rubble that Kenji himself had mercilessly broken over him, seemingly with no remorse.
Kenji felt genuinely sick, water flooded his mouth just as he lost his will to continue resisting the feeling. The vomit that was hardly contained by his remaining strength came pouring out of his stomach, all over the blood stained wood.
His typical way of living was completely undone as his world came crashing down around him. His stomach, already relatively empty, kept spewing out its contents as he felt increasingly dizzy.
The thought of death presented itself to Kenji seamlessly, as if someone else had whispered it to him, the only way to be with his friend was to meet him in the afterlife. He could only pray to whoever was listening that his soul would be blessed enough to accompany his friend for eternity, even if he was to commit suicide.
In a fit of desperation, he found his fingers wrapping around his neck. His ability spread out inside of his veins the moment he began to squeeze with all his might.
The anger never disappeared as he continued to choke himself out, once he suddenly couldn’t register the suffocation, he knew his ability had taken over.
His fingers shook hopelessly by his sides once they were forced away from his neck, Kenji couldn’t process his surroundings any longer. His presence on the world was lost as his vision blurred.
He mumbled for the ability to free him from this but he knew he had lost. It was pointless to protest against this monster.
His breaths were ragged as black spots continued to fill his vision. Kenji’s body suddenly hit the ground with a thud, his head banging against the cold ground, lying just next to his best friend.
When he awoke, he found himself lying on the rice fields that were nearest to his house.
He looked around cautiously at his surroundings, he didn’t notice anything out of place but he felt a slight sting on his wrist. Kenji flicked his wrist up toward his face, he gasped when he saw the blood trickling down them.
There was a fishing net that was placed just next to him, he’d have half the mind to care about how that got there if he didn’t suddenly spot someone in the near distance.
His breathing quickened at the new sight as the man continued to advance. His senses went electric once he realized that this man was not someone that he knew. Kenji readily recognized the silhouette and voice of everyone in the village, the rituals they performed leaving him accustomed to all sorts of feelings.
He cautiously shifted as he recalled the procedures behind encountering spirits, though the threat in front of him seemed more vivid than the supernatural beings Kenji often saw.
Kenji’s gaze shifted upwards to look at the face of the person standing in front of him, only to be met with kind pure hearted eyes.
His spirit was lifted slightly as he let his guard down, his ability subconsciously activated to make up for his mental vulnerability.
The cautionary tales passed on to him by the village elders warned of this sort of story. It wasn’t often that outsiders made their way into Ihatov, all business was usually conducted in the nearby town center. It was a suspicious situation but Kenji had always believed in the best of people, despite the ample warnings he received to steer clear of men.
His parents had always raised him to be mindful of others and accept them. He chose to trust his gut and welcome the man joyfully instead of immediately leading with his ability, especially considering he didn’t quite trust it. To Kenji, this man was equivalent to a cow. If needed, he could simply disarm him with his ability and continue on his way.
He could read him the same way that he could with a cow, whoever this was bore no ill intent.
With the sudden familiarity Kenji found in the situation, the light in his eyes began to slowly replace the haze that the ability left in its wake. He felt more solidified in his own body as the man finally stopped in front of him.
He took in the appearance of the man, no words had been exchanged at this point, his body language didn’t suggest any signs of immediate distress. He clearly possessed the capability to be dangerous, especially with the katana hanging off of his clothing. He was older, sure, but his mannerisms suggested he knew his way around a fight.
Kenji’s lips curled into a soft smile as he looked into the eyes of the other, “It’s nice to meet you, I’m Kenji!”
“I’m Fukuzawa Yukichi, the president of the Armed Detective Agency in Yokohama”, Fukuzawa’s face was blank but Kenji could tell he was proud of his position.
Kenji’s mind was suddenly occupied with the mental image of the cities that once seemed so far from him. He remembered that he used to eagerly wait at the village center for the elders to return so they could sit him down and share stories of their travels. He barely caught onto the mention of abilities as the man continued to drone on.
Fukuzawa’s voice cut into his thoughts of the big city, “May I ask what you’re doing here?”
“I just woke up on the field”, Kenji giggled and waved off any concern with his hands. He didn’t want to get into the details of his recent experience, he still didn’t know what he was wanted for after all.
Fukuzawa’s brow raised, “I’m doing an investigation for the agency, would you mind answering some questions for me?”
Kenji’s head snapped up quickly and tilted to the side, “Of course!”
Kenji fidgeted with the strings of his straw hat, worried that Fukuzawa somehow knew about his ability and what he had done to his friend.
Fukuzawa seemed to have taken notice of his anxiety and carefully considered his next words, “Do you happen to know what caused the split in the mountains?”
He said the words bluntly but Kenji could hear the caution in his tone, as if he already knew the answer but was afraid of confronting it.
Kenji felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up at the mention of the mountains, his fingers subconsciously digging into his already bloody wrist as he tried to ground himself. He swallowed thickly, reaching for the memories that weren’t there. Kenji began rocking on his feet, still grasping for a way to calm down, when he noticed that his ability had manifested itself under them both. He was only able to stare into the face of it, no longer able to look up at Fukuzawa.
He felt the man step closer to him as he lost control of his own legs and collapsed onto the field. A comforting hand was placed on Kenji’s shoulder as he was calmly instructed to take deep breaths. His ability was mocking him, motioning frantically toward the mountains and Kenji’s own neck. Had it not tried to help him earlier? He didn’t understand. He never could.
Kenji’s head frantically shook back and forth as he tried to suck the air into his lungs. He could feel his ability draping itself all over him. Flashes of his best friend’s corpse rang in his mind before he suddenly felt his head clear up. The mark of his ability crawled up his arms and rested comfortably against it, no longer speaking to him, no longer touching him.
He met the face of Fukuzawa, who looked entirely concerned with the display in front of him, but not surprised. Kenji swallowed at the sight of his expression.
“I don’t remember”, the reply came out before Kenji could even process that it wasn’t him who was speaking.
He felt Fukuzawa’s hands clasp onto his back, the gentle rubbing helped him to regain control of his own mind.
“That’s okay, I’m here for you”, Fukuzawa’s hands suddenly reached for Kenji’s, he was pulled back up very gently.
Kenji felt like crying for the second time today. It seemed that fate had turned in Kenji’s favor, allowing him to see a path that he favored. He was still worried about his ability, though he had the feeling that Fukuzawa would be able to get him the answers that he was so desperate for.
“Can you come with me?” Kenji’s eyes were bright as he looked into Fukuzawa’s eyes and pointed happily toward the lake.
Fukuzawa seemed to debate the idea of the lake but Kenji knew the truth behind his apprehension. The detective boss surely knew about the actual nature of abilities, he was likely afraid of him. Kenji was a little out of place, his ability had killed off his dearest friend. He strongly sensed that Fukuzawa knew what happened and it was frightening that he would want to be around Kenji after that.
Suddenly, Kenji felt their hands brush against each other, as if Fukuzawa had read his mind and wanted to immediately deny the ideas in Kenji’s head. He interlocked them with a small smile and they walked forward in tandem.
There weren’t many words exchanged about him on the walk to the lake, small pleasantries and stories from Yokohama were told by Fukuzawa. Kenji found himself genuinely enjoying the time they spent together, he kept giggling at the absurdity of Fukuzawa’s coworkers. Who knew a string of adult detectives could be so silly?
It reminded him of his best friend but he neglected to mention it. Somehow he had the sense that Fukuzawa knew what it was like to lose someone so dear to him and he didn’t want to delve into that just yet.
He truly appreciated the care that Fukuzawa was giving him, even if it was indirect, there was an outlined patience in his actions that told Kenji it was okay to have a strained relationship with his quirks.
He trusted that Fukuzawa would somehow help him make sense of what happened with his friend, he knew that Fukuzawa was familiar with this feeling.
“Thanks for walking with me Fukuzawa-san”, Kenji bounced up and down as they reached the riverbank.
Without asking, he flipped Fukuzawa over onto his back and tucked the older man’s legs around his neck. His hands were resting on his thighs as he secured Fukuzawa’s body.
He slipped out a surprised gasp and sputtered out demands to be put down. Kenji just giggled in response, he was familiar with this pattern of protest. He knew Fukuzawa wasn’t struggling in his hold so he continued onto the path.
He stepped carefully onto the first rock, as he always did, so its sharp edges wouldn’t slice into his foot. When he was a little boy, he often ran home crying with blood pooling around them after an accident. After securing himself, he gleefully skipped across the rest of the pathway.
The screams of Fukuzawa rang out in the distance as it bounced off the nearby hills.
The lake water rippled peacefully beneath the rocks, it was a scene that Kenji had seen thousands of times, but he knew he had to see this with Fukuzawa.
He let out a gasp as he slipped on one of the rocks, his left hand darted out to catch the both of them.
“Sorry Fukuzawa-san!” Kenji clasped his hands together around the man’s thighs with an apologetic look in his face.
Once they reached the last rock, the largest in the pathway, Kenji carefully settled Fukuzawa down onto it. They reached over one another to support themselves on the rock, the space was tight but more than enough for the two of them.
They settled in a calm conversation once again as if they had known each other all their lives. It was a pleasure that Kenji hadn’t been able to feel.
As he basked in the warmth of the sunshine and the company he found himself in, he allowed himself to wonder if this was the half that he had been searching for.
“Is that blood?”, Fukuzawa reached for a bandage in his yukata, already wrapping it around his wrist.
It was at that moment that Kenji had confirmed it for himself, he had to be with this detective.
“Can I join your agency?”, Kenji blurted out the words as the bandages were finally secured.
Fukuzawa looked up to the sky, “You can certainly come with me back to Yokohama, I think it will suit you”.
“That sounds perfect!”, Kenji swung his legs back and forth against the rocks in a rhythm that his best friend had set for him long ago.
He knew he could find a new home if he followed Fukuzawa, one where his ability could properly be with him.