Terazuma fic, set to span his death and his first year in Meifu. Below is the prologue. Anyone who read/remembers Idee Fixe, Terazuma's death turned out to be something different than what was in that fic, but I THINK the rest of it will probably follow that basic outline.
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There was a storm coming. The lurking clouds were full and ripe with the promise of rain, although, in early March, it would more likely be sleet falling. The hunched figure making his way beneath the eves of the buildings took little notice.
Terazuma liked storms. The lightning and thunder stirred something wild inside, and there was little he enjoyed more than watching them from a vantage where he could feel the wind snarling and snapping in his hair.
The streets along the Motoyasu river's bank were for the most part deserted, the street cars' last runs finished hours ago, shops and stores closed up for the night. He could hear the flow of the river, the waters of the high tide lapping hungrily at the walls of the canal. Just him, the streetlights, the river, and the shadows. He preferred it that way; the quiet made it made it easier to think, to analyze. He'd had more than one case come together after a second recollection on the walk from the station. The cold that drew hazed, smoky clouds of his breath didn't bother him; his coat was thick and warm, and he was accustomed to the chill.
It was like that, walking home from a late night of paperwork and thinking of nothing very much apart from his grievous lack of cigarettes, that he glanced up and saw the girl standing at the top of the railing, staring down into the depths below.
"Hey," he hailed her, starting over, hoping already that what was going on was anything other than what it looked like. "Be careful up there; you could..."
Her head snapped around and he caught the briefest glimpse of frightened brown eyes before she jolted into movement, clambering over the cold bars.
"Hey!" he shouted, breaking into a run, making a wild grab for the back of her jacket as her hand, knuckles white and tense, loosed its grip on the rail. For a moment, he felt her weight pulling at his clenched fingers, then she began to thrash about like a trussed bird and her arms slipped free of the sleeves. He barely had time to see the backward glance she cast him through unruly black hair before she hit the river's surface.
He cursed and, running along the bank, struggled out of his coat, tossing it aside as he seized the bar and vaulted over it, diving into the choppy waters.
The cold struck him like shattering glass. Rising with a gasp driven out of him as if he'd been punched, he swam after the girl, stealing a breath of air before plunging beneath the surface. Straining to see in the darkness, fingertips seeking the touch of fabric, he finally found her slim arm. Seizing it, he swam upwards and, breaking to the top again, looked around wildly for one of the safety ladders leading back up to the street.
The girl stirred, raising her head as he wrapped his arm around her waist. For a moment, her gaze was blank, uncomprehending, then her eyes went wide.
"Let go!" The rushing water muffled her thin voice, the force of the current sweeping them downstream overpowering the desperate rhythm of her fists on his chest. "Let me go!"
"The hell I will," he snarled back, struggling to the side and trying to cling to the smooth cement incline, cursing as his shoes slipped against the slicks of algae beneath the water. Arm splayed against the wall, his short nails torn slowly across as the river alternately thrust him against it and sucked him back, he kicked his shoes off, feeling them slip free and begin to sink. The girl writhed against him, nails digging into his forearm as she struggled to loose his locked grip.
"Hold still," he growled, tightening his arm around her.
"No!" she protested, still squirming. "It's just supposed to be me! Only me!"
He snapped, "It's not going to be either of us. I'm not going to let you kill yourself when you're too young and stupid to know any better."
"You don't know anything about it!" Her tone was shrill and high; she was starting to panic.
"I know that if you don't shut up and hold still, we're both going to die."
"You shouldn't--you shouldn't have come after me." Her voice broke, her struggling stilling. She was starting to shiver, Terazuma noticed grimly.
"Too late now," he responded harshly. "Now hold on around my neck so I can use both hands."
Meekly, she obeyed, winding her arms around his shoulders and nestling gingerly against his back. He brought his hand up, clutching against the wall, fingers barely visible in the dim light angling down from the lights on the street too far above. He tried to sight down the river and saw only the water's black expanses.
"Hold on," he repeated to her. "There's no ladder here; we're going to have to go further downstream a little ways, all right?"
He felt her nod and loosed his clench against the wall, keeping his fingers in as close as he could manage as the current took them and shoved them onward. Where was it? Where was it? How far apart were the damn things?
Fingers catching on a break in the cement, he forced himself to pull to a stop, ignoring the numbness that was beginning to set in and choke his movements. He felt for a ladder briefly and found nothing.
"Hey," he said to the girl still clinging around his neck. "I'm not finding a ladder. We're going to need to call for help, all right?"
She nodded again, lifting her head and letting out a low yell. Terazuma fought to keep from rolling his eyes and redoubled his grip.
"It's going to have to be louder than that."
The scream that followed split the night. He cringed but nodded. "That's right. Keep that up; I'm gonna see if I can climb up a little ways here."
With her voice ringing in his ears, he pressed tightly to the angled wall, numb fingers straining to pull himself upward. He progressed all of a few inches before slipping back down.
The girl's cries ceased as they slid back into the water. "No one's coming," she whispered in his ear, barely audible, the cold driving tremors through her pleading tones. "What do we do?"
"Keep trying," he gritted. "In the meantime, can you hold on here if I try to swim ahead and find a ladder?"
Her arms clenched around his neck, the wet fabric of their shirts offering only a thin veil of cloth between their bodies. He could feel her pulse racing as she clung to him.
"So that's a no. Hold on, then, and don't stop yelling." He let go of the wall and the water greedily pulled them onward, scraping his hand across the cement, rough enough to scratch and draw blood. The river turned slightly and the illumination cast by the streetlights fell away, the clouds overhead blotting out even the barest amounts of moonlight.
It was harder to stop the next time; his fingers fumbled and slipped in the current's force several times before they jerked to a stop that made his muscles scream protest. He gripped at the wall with feet that barely registered the sensation, and heard the girl whisper something.
"What?" he asked. "Louder; I can't hear you."
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" Her voice rose, strangled, and he felt with a sudden shock the tears against the nape of his neck, sharp and hot against the deadening cold.
"Hey, hey, calm down, calm down," he protested, carefully reaching back to touch her sodden hair. "Whatever it is, we'll figure it out when we get out, all right?"
"I don't want to die," she whimpered.
"You're not going to die," he said firmly, trying to make himself believe it, to stem his own rising fear. "You'll be fine."
"But no one's coming."
"So we'll just wait 'til morning." He knew as he said it that his grip wouldn't hold out that long but he'd drown before he admitted it aloud.
"But your hands..."
He forced light-heartedness into his reply. "Just a little scraped up. We'll be fine. You don't have to worry about me letting go, 'cause I don't think I could pry my hands loose again if I wanted to. Everything's gonna be all right. Don't worry."
She was quiet for a moment, then asked softly, "What's your name?"
"Me? Terazuma Hajime, Hiroshima police force."
"A policeman... You wouldn't--wouldn't take a bribe, would you?" The words carried far too much urgency.
He blinked. "What? Of course not, and anyone who tried to give me one would get a quick black eye."
She clung to him tighter. "I'm sorry. Of course you wouldn't."
"So what's your name? If we're going to be here all night, we should know that much about each other."
"Kuniko..."
Terazuma grinned. "Kuniko, right. See, all we have to do is keep this up and morning'll come in no time."
No time at all. Just another five hours until sunrise. Shit.
"Do--do you want to know why I jumped?" she faltered.
"No," he said promptly. "There'll be plenty of time for that once we're out." She didn't answer, pressing her face to his shoulder. "Come on; stick with me. What's your favorite flavor of ice cream?"
"I-ice cream?"
"Sure. I just like chocolate myself; nothing f-fancy." In his mind, he cursed the teeth-chattering stammer quavering into both their voices.
"But it's only February..."
"Yeah, and? You got different favorites for every month?"
"I--I guess... Butterscotch..." She was sounding weaker. He shifted position slightly, trying to jostle her.
"I just like that as a topping. Now you ask one," he prompted.
She was quiet again, then spoke into his ear. "Are you mad at me?"
"Of course not," he answered, trying to keep his voice from cracking. "I'm not mad at all. There's nothing to be mad about. We'll be fine. Come on, just stay with me."
She didn't answer.
"Stay with me," he repeated more desperately. "Come on. Come on; don't stop talking. Come on!"
Her breath against his neck was too light; her body shivered, but she made no response.
"Help!" He tipped his head up, shouting with all the volume he could muster. "Is there anyone there? Someone help!"
His voice echoed unanswered along the walls.
Dammit...!
He thrust his arm out again, searching for the ladder's thin bars. Only bare stone met his advances, made erratic and clumsy by desperation, as he inched along the wall. He stopped, breathing hard, dropping his forehead against the stone, and trying to think past the fear and enroaching weariness.
Come on... Stay with it...
Shit... Come on...
Stay with me...
Stay...
A little while later, he didn't look up as the sleet broke free of the clouds and began to fall.
A few minutes after that, he didn't notice his hand slip free.
And in the last moments of his life, he didn't feel the water tug him from the wall and pull him under and away.
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The title is a reference to what Terazuma's always calling Tsuzuki. Evil Asian Genius made an interesting point once that Terazuma may be calling Tsuzuki lazy and useless, but dragonflies are hunters, so he may also be alluding to that. And often what we dislike in others is a reflection of what we dislike in ourselves, so... I'm not sure it really fits the planned tone of the story, though, so if anyone else has any title suggestions, feel free to toss 'em up. If I change it, I'll be sure to notify people a chapter or two in advance.
Feedback? Please?