Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Tactics. They are the property of Kinoshita Sakura and Higashiyama Kazuko.

A/N: This is my first time writing a Tactics story . . . I hope you all like it . . . OOCness is present, I guess . . . I think. I know Kantarou's bracelet is supposed to detect youkai and whatnot but I also used it as a sign as to whether a creature/person would attack him or not - something to that degree . . . Please review, because I'd appreciate it!

REVISED: May 26, 2010

I have seen his named spelled as Kantarou and Kantaro in fanfiction. But I like Kantaro with a "u" at the end (though this is probably incorrect). As for Rosary (I spelled it this way because the fan-subbers had spelled it this way when I had first seen it. This was before it was dubbed officially.) Someone got on my case about the spelling of her name…I never explained to her how I ended up with Rosary though. However, I will correct it. LoL

Breathe
Chapter 1: Suzu's Grave
By: LadyYuina

A lonely boy walked along a dusty road, wondering where all the creatures had gone to. He frowned, asking himself if his presence had scared them off. His mind didn't dwell on that for too long though. Imagination was everything to this child . . . according to the villagers. The boy's belief in creatures of the unknown was simply gibberish amongst the adults. Even to the other children he appeared to be like an enigma.

"That boy would speak of things that we have never seen or heard of! Has he gone mad!"

Ruby-red eyes would narrow ever so slightly, but the eyes were never willing to see.

"How does his mother and father deal with a child like him?"

Mouth drawn out to a thin line, yet a word was never spoken.

"My son is too scared to play with him . . ."

Fingers would curl up, though a punch was never thrown.

This was the life of Ichi . . .

Kan-chan!" Youko called. "Kan-chan!"

"In here, Youko! I was in the middle of writing when you interrupted me!" Kantarou peevishly exclaimed. He used his pen to scratch at an itchy spot on his scalp. Staring back down at the page, Kantarou wondered why he decided to write about himself . . . In a story format no less. Should he use his real name? Or make one up?

"You were actually writing?" Youko asked, voice dripping with disbelief. She poked her head around the corner of the shoji screened door, donning fox ears and all.

"Of course." Kantarou presented her with a pen in hand, indicating that he had indeed been writing.

"Well, don't stop. Keep going."

"I would've if you hadn't interrupted me. Now I'm not in the mood to anymore."

"Kan-chan, you lazy mongrel! You can't expect food to appear on the table without money! Seriously . . . write some more!" Kantarou sighed. He wasn't going to tell Youko that his writing wasn't even work related. If he told her she'd surely yell to the point of his ears falling off.

"Where's Haruka?" Kantarou asked, ignoring her demands. Youko groaned in annoyance and glared at her Master, with her fox ears now being straight and rigid on the top of her head. "Is he out in the garden on the rooftop again?"

"Don't ignore me, Kantarou!" Youko yelled, pointing a finger at him as he stood up. He merely looked at her and shrugged. Youko was now fuming but she made no attempt to stop the silver-haired man when he walked past her.

As Kantarou suspected, Haruka was lying on the rooftop basking in the sun like a cat would. When he got up there he found Haruka blankly staring up at the sky. His eyes slowly moved to settle onto that of his Master upon his approach, but his head made no such movement. He smiled and waved - Haruka liked it when he'd smile - it made him feel all warm inside. The feeling was . . . nice.

"I knew you'd be up here," Kantarou said. He sat down next to the black-haired Tengu, who now reverted his attention back to the sky. "It makes me wonder why you always come up here to stare at mass space above this planet. Even when the sky is darkened, being threatened with the chance of rain, you still come up here and gaze at it. It really makes me wonder."

"You think too much. Stop analyzing things so carefully," was the nonchalant reply. Kantarou laughed. Haruka inwardly smiled, because he liked Kantarou's laugh, too. It had a nice pitch to it, not too squeaky or too deep. It was just the right tone for the Tengu's ears. Haruka was happy that Kantarou was his Master, but he wasn't going to openly admit it. He shuddered at the thought of Youko making fun of him, perhaps even Kantarou as well.

"That's part of my job. Besides, being perceptive really comes in handy on some of the cases I take on." Haruka stared at his Master again, but he didn't notice because he was still busy looking at the sky. A light breeze gently lifted his silver hair, making it sparkle in the sunlight. Far up in the clouds Kantarou could make out a small butterfly fluttering along. "Say, how long has it been since Suzu's death . . .?"

Haruka frowned, for when he saw his Master unhappy or sad it bothered him. He wanted to reach out and touch the man, yet he refrained from doing so. Instead, he said, "about four months."

"Wow . . . I didn't realize that much time had passed already. I think I'll go visit her grave one of these days." Kantarou looked down towards Haruka, though his gaze was not directed towards his face. Haruka's frown deepened.

"You miss her?" Kantarou nodded, not bothering to hide what he was feeling this time. "I see."

"She was annoying most of the time, but she was a very bright girl. I'm glad she had lived as long as she did. It goes to show that she had the will to survive. Remember that day? Even after death she tried to act like nothing was wrong . . . When I realized it, I pitied her . . . Was that wrong of me?"

Haruka made no notion to answer. He let the question settle, which in turn would eventually fade away. A flock of birds flew by them overhead and a thought came to Haruka.

"Kantarou."

"Yes, Haruka?" Kantarou answered. Haruka sat up and looked at him, wondering if he should say what he wanted to say . . .

". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ."

Still not looking at Haruka, Kantarou asked, "something the matter?"

"I was thinking about flying. Going to hang out somewhere for a while."

"Go ahead, you have my permission. Just be back before dinnertime, okay?" When Haruka did not take flight did the silver-haired man finally look at him. His deep set, red orbs held great pain in their murky depths, but they were soon swept away with a blink of the eye. It was for the briefest of moments - Haruka did not let it go unchecked. "Haruka, I said you have my permission, get going already."

"I will." Haruka stood up while Kantarou remained seated. Not worried about what his Master's reaction would be, Haruka swept Kantarou up in his arms and took off into the air.

"H-hey! Haruka! What are you doing!" Kantarou squirmed. Haruka sweat dropped, warning him that if he kept thrashing around like that, he was going to fall. Kantarou stopped immediately as he wrapped his arms around Haruka's neck. And Haruka closed his eyes, relishing the feel of Kantarou's arms around him. He held onto him tightly as he flew, promising himself that he'd never let his Master fall.

After a brief bout of silence. "Are you angry with me?" Haruka asked, curious to know.

Kantarou shook his head. "I'm not mad, just . . . a little surprised, that's all. Did you have somewhere in mind you wanted to go to or are you simply going to keep flying around?"

"Where would you like to go?"

This question caught him by complete surprise, and Kantarou's eyes widened. Haruka couldn't help but smile at his Master's cute expression. He adored it. Surprise - this was something he was never going to get tired of eliciting from his Master.

"Uh . . . well, I . . . I don't really know," Kantarou replied. "Let's just go back; Youko is expecting me to continue to write even though I doubt I can."

"Since when have you started to yield to Youko's wishes?" Haruka asked, slightly amused. "You're usually so against it."

"Well, maybe I feel like listening to Youko for once. I am tired of eating the same old rice and miso soup everyday, with the occasional tiny fried sardine." A few moments went by before Kantarou realized that Haruka wasn't heading home. "Where are we going?"

"Suzu's grave. Now is a good time as any to go visit," Haruka reasoned. Kantarou nodded and remained silent for the rest of the trip. Haruka hoped this was the only reason that his Master was feeling down.

"Before we actually go there I'd like to buy her some flowers." Haruka shook his head, thus making Kantarou frown disapprovingly. "Why not? I feel that it's rude to not bring something."

"It's okay, Kantarou. I'm sure Suzu wouldn't want any flowers. We Tengu believe that things like that will go on into the afterlife. It's best if she doesn't remember us."

"That's some bogus story, Haruka. Shouldn't things be sent off to the other realm at the time of the person's death?" Kantarou quizzed.

"I don't believe in human customs - I'll believe what all Tengu believe in." Haruka started to slow as they neared the grave site. Kantarou started walking as soon as he was set down.

"Believe what you want, Haruka. I'm going to go gather some flowers in the nearby area. I'll be back."

"I should go with you-"

"Don't worry. I'm not a kid, I'm a grown man. I can take care of myself."

"According to a Tengu's aging system, in retrospect I am much older than you. To us, you'd still be considered a baby."

Kantarou laughed as he continued to walk. He faded out of view when he entered through a patch of bushes. Haruka held a motive to follow his Master but decided not to. After all that's happened to Kantarou, he was sure that he could handle himself. Haruka sat down where he was and waited.

Kantarou hummed a tune that he learned from Suzu as he looked around for flowers. When Suzu was sent away, Kantarou didn't cry - he didn't even look as sad as he had wanted to show. After a while of her absence he broke down completely, but Haruka and Youko never knew about it. Thinking back to it now, Kantarou thought it was best that they never found out.

Did my longing for Suzu's childish presence force me to write about myself? It sounds rather silly but I can't think of any other explanation for it. Am I trying to leave a legacy of myself behind? Would anyone want to read it?

Once Kantarou had gathered all the flowers that he wanted he started to head back. Reaching the bushes that he had gone through Kantarou decided to peek in on Haruka to see what he was doing before making himself known. Kantarou pushed apart some shrubs to see.

Haruka was sitting down on the spot that he was last standing upon. He nonchalantly stretched his wings and yawned - Kantarou stifled a chuckle. Seeing Haruka act like a bored old man was too good of a sight to give up. His muffled chuckles ceased when he heard someone speak from behind him.

"Ichinomiya Kantarou . . ."

The silver-haired man turned around to see a beautiful woman looking at him intently. The woman had dark, long, flowing hair and eyes as golden brown as a fiery copper coin. She was clothed in a long green shawl that covered her from her shoulders to her waist. Beneath this was a black, loose fitting dress that had intricate designs on the hem. What appeared to be on her head was a witches' hat, though Kantarou doubted she was a real witch.

"That's me . . ." Kantarou answered. His bracelet jingled gently, telling him that this mysterious woman was not going to attack him anytime soon (given if she had any intent to). "Can I help you with something?"

"Write. This is all I ask of you. Write."

Kantarou's brows furrowed, confused by this woman's request. It then dawned on him that she probably was a fan of his written works. He smiled, saying, "if you're a fan of mine you'll have to wait for my next article. I'll admit this only to you: the fun part is the exploring, and the boring part is the actual writing!" The woman did not laugh as she continued to stare at him.

"Such a trivial matter does not concern me," she replied. Kantarou sweat dropped, placing a hand behind his head as he laughed nervously. The woman eyed the bracelet on his wrist. "That bracelet . . ."

"This?" Kantarou put his wrist out, allowing her to have a better look. The bells started to jingle more vigorously when the woman's expression changed. Her face, once calm indifference was now believably concealed anger. Kantarou sensed the sudden possible danger he was in. "Who are you?"

"My name you need not know. Until next time." A black ball of energy emerged from the ground, engulfing her. Kantarou watched as the ball dispersed, leaving behind a small trail of smoke to rise up towards the sky.

"Who was that woman? Her aura was concealed well - I didn't even realize . . . She can't be some common demon . . ."

When Kantarou made it back to the gravesite, Haruka acted as if he didn't notice him. One of the other things he liked about his Master was when he threw his arms around him to try and surprise him as he shouted, 'gotcha!' Haruka waited - nothing happened. He waited some more, and still nothing happened.

"Where's Kantarou?" he mused out loud.

Turning around he saw the silver-haired man standing by a tombstone. He was looking at it while scratching at his head. Haruka wondered what was the matter. He made his way towards him.

"What are you doing, Kantarou?" Haruka asked, peering at the tombstone his Master seemed to be so engrossed upon. The name read, 'Kimishiro Dirina'. Quite an unusual first name for a Japanese person. Hmmm, or rather, is she even Japanese? By any chance, do you think you might know this person?"

"No, but I feel as if I've met her before. Her name sounds real familiar, though I can't recall where I've heard it." Kantarou now placed a hand beneath his chin as he engaged himself in deep thought.

Haruka's gaze fell onto the flowers in Kantarou's left hand. He wanted to remind him to go visit Suzu's grave but he didn't say anything. Kantarou groaned in frustration when he couldn't come up with a valid answer to appease himself. The black-haired Tengu was intrigued to see his Master struggling to remember someone that he himself simply could not remember.

"Kantarou, we should head to Suzu's grave now." Kantarou stopped fuming and heaved a sigh. Whether it was out of relief or annoyance, Haruka wasn't too sure. And not to mention he looked as if he completely forgot the whole reason he was here. "Could it be you've forgotten?"

"Hahahaha, I guess you could say that . . ." Kantarou sweat dropped. "Let's go there now then! I'll chant her a spirits' prayer!"

"What kind?"

"The one for when one's spirit passes over the bridge to reach Heaven's doors. This is one of my favorites," Kantarou told him. This was something new; Kantarou never really talked about spiritual chants much, so it was surprising to find out he even had a favorite one. The flower was placed down upon Suzu's tombstone despite Haruka's (weak) protests.

"Just because you're my Master, don't always expect to get your way," Haruka coolly warned.

Kantarou who was now grinning, grinned even wider. "Try me." He planted both hands on either side of his hips - his eyes blazing with the passion for competing.

Haruka merely shrugged, while saying, "I'll pass."

"Scared to go against me?" Kantarou taunted.

"No."

"Then come on!"

"We're at Suzu's grave. Show some respect." Kantarou looked at the tombstone and slapped a hand to his forehead. Now it was Haruka's turn to smirk. "I win."

"Eehhhhhh! What do you mean you win!" Kantarou thrust his face towards the Tengu's.

"Just chant."

"Oh! Right, right . . ." Kantarou muttered.

Chapter 1: END