Notes: Character death in this fic. AU. Yeah.

D.C. al Capo
by Tokki-tsu

"Ittekimasu." The word is whispered to a silent house; so early in the morning, Hiyoshi is the only one awake. Shoes are tugged on as he makes his way out the door, the sound of his footsteps dampened by the mist.

Summers take him to his grandparents' home, with its quiet landscape and unassuming atmosphere. Perhaps it's the lack of people, perhaps it's the stillness, but the presence of the sole other figure on the dirt trail is magnified until it's almost tangible. Hiyoshi slows when he passes by, stops completely when the stranger says, "Won't you play with me?"

Hiyoshi declines, but the stranger is still there the next day and the next, until the fourth time when he is spirited away without any warning. He is dragged through the forest, past the lake, and as they continue on he can't help but notice his odd companion seems to float more than run.

He's only given a name and a background afterwards - Taki Haginosuke, one year older than he, has lived here 'since forever'.

He asks his grandparents, once, about Taki, but they can tell him nothing.

Hiyoshi doesn't think on it any further, learns to tune out Taki on his daily runs so that he's listening to inflection rather than actual words.

The last day of summer, Hiyoshi wakes to Taki's request to meet at the lake that night. The note is tucked carefully into his pocket as he starts for his run. Taki isn't there, and it feels strange, like an element is missing. But that doesn't make sense, so he continues on.

That night Hiyoshi is sitting at the dock and waiting, but it's grown late and Taki still hasn't come. It's only when he chooses to go that invisible hands are strangling him, holding him down, and even as his vision grows dimmer, an image of Taki becomes more and more distinct and real.

Taki leans and brushes icy lips against his, says 'goodbye' and then 'hello'.

The End

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