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He sat.
Perched on cold rock, a thin fog curling around his ankles as he let them hang down.
It was boring here, no one to talk to. Not a lot to see.
There were the occasional people walking around. Wearing darkened clothes and heavy expressions. But they were rarely there for him.
A soft metallic creak sounded out from down the gravel path leading away from his sitting place, breaking the quiet.
Slowly washed out blue eyes turned towards the entrance of the cemetery, noting two people making their way deeper between cold grey pillars.
It was a quiet procession of white and red hair, neither of them saying a word, staring with sad eyes at their destination: Him.
Well not him exactly. His grave.
He was not visible to the living, he had learned that soon after he appeared out of thin air. His presence would not register, his words would not be heard, unseeing eyes would pass right over him. Leaving him feeling as disconnected from the word as he apparently was.
It reminded him of something, someone. A horrible boiling feeling in his stomach.
He wanted to scream. But no one would hear him.
His musings came to a halt by the two stopping right in front of him. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He wanted to be closer. He wanted a connection. He needed them to see him.
But they did not.
Like all the other times they had visited they cleaned the grave, burned insense and replaced the flowers lying at the foot of the grave. Working in silence, as if any word spoken would break something in the air.
Having finished their routine they stepped back, still silent, to pray. Pray for him? Pray for what? He desperately wanted to know.
Slowly the youngest of the two stepped forward again (when had he grown up so much?), and placed something next to the burning insense. A small bowl of soba.
Touya felt his eyes well up.
“We never got to eat together Touya-nii.” his little brother spoke quietly. “Nee-san taught me how to make it.” He paused. “We ended up making a mess of the kitchen-“ a cough from behind him. “I ended up making a mess of the kitchen.” He corrected himself, rolling his eyes a bit.
Fuyumi gave a small smile, and patted her brother softly on the arm.
She looked one last time at the gravestone on which he was sitting and then slowly started making her way back to the gate they had come from.
Touya watched her go, unhappy to see his visitors leave so soon again but knowing he could do nothing to stop it.
He turned back to his little brother, still standing there. And almost jumped out of his skin at seeing two-toned eyes focused on him. The confused and startled look on his little brother’s face mirrored his own as they silently stared at each other.
Right as Shouto looked like he was about to say something, his mouth opening, his name was called from further ahead.
His head swivelled to look and that was enough to break the magic.
When he looked back his eyes were as unseeing as they had been every time before.
With a sinking feeling Touya watched as Shouto shook his head, confused, and turned away from his grave, walking back to the gate where Fuyumi stood waiting. Leaving him alone until the next time they would come to visit again.
He would have to wait.
