World Asunder

The screeching of the subway car as it thundered along its tracks was hysterically loud. It sounded just like a thousand birds chirping all at once, or perhaps more like that horrendous noise made when a knife slips against a plate. The one that makes your tongue taste funny and the inside of your ears itch. Iruka hated the subway, but didn’t live close enough to walk to work. So he settled for cramming into a tin can forty feet below ground and zooming around the city at unsafe speeds.

The subway has its own kind of beauty though. It was almost hypnotic, with the steady sway of the car as it rides along the track and the flashing of blue and white lights from far inside the tunnels. They let off just enough light to trick you into thinking something is there in the dark expanse of tracks. Maybe it’s an oversized rat, skittering along, but probably nothing.

He hears the screeching again, and then feels the pull of the breaks, making everyone lean one direction to brace for a stop. Iruka thinks it must be an old subway car if it’s making such a racket.

But when living in a big city, you quickly begin to expect such a ridiculous amount of noise.

You begin to expect crowds, and traffic, and short tempers. You understand the reasons for stepping around someone walking slow on the street, you all of a sudden get why you might spend a lot of your time in a tin-can barreling through the ground.

Iruka worked downtown, which was nice because it was quieter than the city center and it was near the water. His building even had a lovely view of the bay, however Iruka’s cubicle only had a lovely view of the other cubicles. It was a mid-size marketing firm with a few notable clients, none in Iruka’s portfolio though. He only had claim over short term packages.

If you asked him he’d tell you he was happy. He had an alright job, a few good friends, and was even planning a trip for himself to a mountain spa in a few months. If he could scrape up enough money for it.

He would say, quite proudly, that he was finally moving out of his shared apartment and into one of his own. The building was near condemned, and in the oldest part of town, but that sort of thing was in these days, right?

Either way, Izumo and Kotetsu we’re getting pretty serious and he felt obliged to move out into his own space and give them their privacy.

The subway car emptied out at his stop, and in a rush of identical black suits and polished loafers, Iruka made his way above ground and began the short outdoors portion of his journey.

Despite the shining sun it was cold. Freezing in fact. Banks of snow that had somehow managed to collect between the buildings made already small sidewalks even smaller while crowds of business people who each had a place to be hurried through. Iruka had grown used to the claustrophobic race.

Once inside his building he scanned his badge and rode the elevator up to the 30th floor, same routine as always, and he settled into his desk prepared for an uneventful day.

Three cups of coffee, five expense reports, and a lunch box later and Iruka was nearly done with his workday, sighing regularly as he checked the time.

Nearly there, he thought. He decided to take a small break, stretch his legs out, and walk around the office saying hello to the few friends he had in the company, inquiring about their weekend plans, the usual office banter.

“When do you move into your new place Iruka? You sign the contract yet?” A woman who had more pictures of her children on her desk than actual paperwork asked.

“This weekend! I’ve signed, given the deposit, and all my stuff is boxed up ready to go. I can’t wait to see the place,” He gushed, happy to have something new to talk about. She looked at him with a small amount of doubt.

“Wait… you haven’t… seen it?”

“Ah, well no not it person. It was a really good price and the landlady said she had other inquirers so…” He scratched at his nose, a little worried she would think of him as idiotic for making such a rash decision.

“Oh Iruka… “ She tutted, “Big mistake, mark my words!” He frowned, the small amount of optimism he held onto fading quick. “Well, just be sure to check for mold, buy a carbon monoxide checker… and set some rat traps while you’re at it,”

He nodded, suddenly very uninterested in continuing the conversation.

When he arrived home, or at Izumo and Kotetsu’s apartment as it now was, he sighed and toed his shoes off, loosening his tie while he made his way in.

“Ruka? That you?” Izumo’s voice came from the kitchen. He answered with a vague groan. “I’ll take that as a yes, or there’s a very grumpy intruder in our apartment,”

“Funny,” Iruka grumbled, walking around piles of boxes to plop down on the couch. Every item he owned was boxed up and ready to be moved in. It made him incredibly anxious.

Kotetsu wandered out from his bedroom to sit next to Iruka.

“Hey buddy, how was work?” He asked, nearly draping himself over Iruka.

“Okay, same as always,”

“You ready for tomorrow?” Kotetsu asked with a grin, excited for him. In the morning a moving truck would arrive and Iruka would officially be moved out.

“Yeah, can’t wait.” He said with a tired smile. He’d been working towards this for months now. Kotetsu played with Iruka's hair absentmindedly, not that he minded at all.

"Your hair's gotten so long Ru, you gonna cut it any time soon?" It was true, he hadn't gotten a cut in a while, his hair fell past his ears now. It was purely out of forgetfulness, not having the spare time to go get a proper trim. For years he'd kept it short, it was just more practical.

"Yeah, in a few days, it's getting really bad, I know,"

"Looks kinda good, you should just grow it out since you're already this far in," Iruka made a face, but considered it. He probably couldn't keep the hair at work, as much as he wondered what he would look like.

The three friends had known each other since infancy, growing up in a children’s home together. Izumo and Kotetsu don’t remember their parents at all, but Iruka had some memories that still stuck to him. Every so often he’d dream about them, and wake up with tears in his eyes. On those nights he would show up in Izumo and Kotetsu’s bed between them, receiving all the love and support two best friends could ever offer.

When they had told him they were dating, it wasn’t a surprise, and he was truly happy for them. But he couldn’t help but feel the slightest bit more lonely after. Seeing them being affectionate and loving made his chest ache.

“Dinner’s ready!” Izumo shouted from the kitchen. He had made tempura and a simple ramen, trying to imitate Iruka’s favorite dish. It wasn’t exact, but it was perfect.

—

The next morning all three men loaded the boxes into a van and drove it across town, through ridiculous traffic, to get to Iruka’s new place.

As they were getting close, Izumo and Kotetsu exchanged concerned looks. The area they were in had seen better days, to put it nicely. Every other building was boarded up or demolished and the roads were cracked and split. It was the oldest part of the city, nearly abandoned and rumored to be haunted.

The two stayed quiet while Iruka navigated for them.

“It’s that one, at the dead end!” He said, pointing out the window to an ornate and ancient looking apartment building. You could tell that it had been a single home at point, but like every other standing apartment on the block it had been separated by floor and rented out.

They parked the van in front and got out cautiously, looking around for a sign of life. Iruka, seemingly blind to all this, walked right up to the building and knocked on the door.

After a minute or two, the door opened to reveal his landlady, looking like she wasn’t expecting him nearly this early.

“Hi, I’m Iruka… your new tenant,” He said tentatively, and she seemed to remember him suddenly. She was older, but he couldn’t begin to guess how old. Her figure must have been incredible under the robe and sweatpants she was wearing. Her blonde hair was up in a messy bun, and Iruka noticed a small tattoo on her neck of a design he had never seen before.

“Right... Iruka. I’m Tsunade. Who are they?” She asked, nodding at Kotetsu and Izumo who were starting to get boxes out of the van.

“My friends, they’re helping me move in. I can... move in today, right?” He seemed unsure, this wasn’t going smoothly. She looked into the entryway and then back at Iruka.

“Of course,” she said defensively. The door opened into a hallway with a staircase at the end and one door on the right.

“So uh...my place is right here, first floor. You’re on the… third floor?” She looked at him for confirmation and he nodded.

Iruka followed her up, noticing quite a bit of dust settled on the railing.

“Does… anyone else live here?” He asked, being careful not to touch anything.

“No, you’re the first tenant in… a while.” She replied, fishing some keys from her pocket and using them to unlock Iruka’s door. It was the top floor or the building, which was really more of a house.

Once she opened the door, Iruka was both underwhelmed and scared to check inside. He could almost feel his throat begin to itch at the sight of all the dust and dirt. Something like rubble was strewn about the floor and counters with cobwebs in every conceivable corner.

“Here you are… kitchen is that way, the bedroom is there… don’t try and light a fire in that fireplace, it’s been sealed up.” She explained quickly. Iruka swallowed thickly, not wanting to let her see his emotions. He wasn’t upset, just a little disappointed.

The living room was on the left, and the bedroom and bathroom were at one end of that. To the right was the kitchen and a broom closet. As soon as you walk in there was another door, however, that seemed to be a continuation of the staircase.

“I thought this was the top floor of the building…” he said as he opened it. A staircase ascended into darkness, and even when he squinted he couldn’t see anything at the top.

“It is,” She said and came to stand beside him. “There used to be another floor, but it was demolished when there was construction done,” They both looked up into the darkness together for a moment.

“Oh,” is all he could think to say, and he shut the door.

“Bring your first month of rent and the deposit down to me by Monday,” she said and he nodded. “Here’s your key, don’t lose it.”

Iruka took the key and thanked her before she descended and disappeared.

Her presence was soon repacked by Kotetsu with an armful of cardboard box.

“Woah, your landlady has huge knockers,”.

“Really, Ko?” Izumo said from close behind.

“Well someone had to say it,” he excused, and set his box down. “Yeesh, this place is… in pretty rough shape,” Seeing Iruka’s face made him change his tune. “But nothing a little elbow grease can’t fix, right?”

They unloaded the van with ease, and Iruka realized he didn’t own very much now that it was all spread out in front of him. He had brought his mattress, but no box spring or headboard, so it sat on the ground. His couch was still in its box and needed to be assembled.

They spent a few hours putting together the frame and writing a list of things to buy. Turns out Iruka had forgotten a lot of essentials.

Around dinner time Kotetsu and Izumo left to return the van and head home. They promised him they would be back for a proper celebratory meal sometime soon.

With a long hug and only a few tears they said goodbye, leaving Iruka alone for the first time is a very long time.

Living in a big city he rarely had the option of being alone. He worked in an office, he took the subway everywhere, and up until now he had lived with two people who had no problem popping in on him in the shower.

He felt slightly panicky, but tried to calm himself by rolling up his sleeves and getting to work fixing up the place he would be calling home.

--

By the time Iruka had made any progress on cleaning up his new home he was covered from head to toe in dust and cobwebs with his hands nearly pink from all the bleach and harsh chemicals he had been scrubbing with.

As worn out as he felt though, there was still a long way to go. The kitchen and bathroom were now clean, but didn’t look any less terrifyingly glum. His bedroom was swept and mopped, and yet there was still a musty odor lingering in the air. He stuck a note on the fridge reminding himself to buy a candle while he was out.

After taking the overfull bags of garbage out to the dumpster and spending some time in a well deserved shower, Iruka slumped to his bed feeling somewhat accomplished.

Before he could lie down however, he realized he needed sheets, or at the very least a blanket to use. With a grunt of annoyance Iruka went searching through boxes for his linens, getting more frustrated with each wrong box he opened.

“Where the hell did Kotetsu put the damn box?” He shouted to no one. After he had exhausted every option, under the sink, the front closet, the weird crawl space under the staircase to nowhere, Iruka grumbled and grabbed the phone to call Kotetsu and demand he tell him the whereabouts of his blankets.

Before he dialed though, as a last ditch effort he yanked open the weird staircase door and looked up into the pitch black.

“That fucking asshole”

Two boxes sat perched on the top step, and Iruka had no doubt about who put them there. “I’m gonna go hide some of his shit in dark creepy places and see how he likes it,” he fumed, anger driving out fear as he climbed the steps.

The boxes weren’t heavy, just a few blankets and pillows, but it was cumbersome to walk down the stairs with them. With a satisfied rip he tore open the boxes, pulling clean sheets and pillows from within. He shoved his face in one an inhaled deeply, enjoying the lack of dust and mold.

He set his bed quickly, leaving a few wrinkles in his wake but he didn’t care, he was exhausted.

Before he slipped between the sheets though, Iruka shuddered, a cool breeze wrapping around him.

Goosebumps rose on his neck, and he hugged his arms around himself, looking around for the source of the draft.

He turned with a sudden chilling realization, and saw the staircase to nowhere, door still ajar.

Another cool breeze brushed over him like the breath of some great dangerous beast, and he swallowed anxiously. The air felt thick, almost like water flowing around him.

Iruka remembered as he looked into its black depths that the door wasn’t supposed lead to anywhere, there should just be a brick wall behind it. There was no reason for there to be a draft, let alone one so ominous.

Instead of closing the door, he took a breath and started ascending, the creaking of the wood an unwelcome guest.

At the top he could see a small amount of blue-ish light emanating from whatever was behind the door. The air in the staircase was cold and thick and sweet, Iruka could almost taste it with every breath.

When he tried the doorknob it wouldn’t budge, so he got on his knees and tried to peek through the crack. It seemed almost like there was a lush carpet on the other side, but he couldn’t make out exactly where it led.

Iruka considered that there was an additional room on the other side, maybe it was never fully demolished when the rest of the block was torn down.

He tried to poke a finger under it, but to no avail.

His sleepiness had suddenly vanished and it was replaced by curiosity. Iruka went and fetched a flashlight and a screwdriver to try and solve his little mystery.

Able to fully inspect the door now, he noted a delicate swirling emblem that was carved into its center. The door seemed ancient, at least as old as the house, if not older. It was cool to the touch, which wasn’t surprising, however it seemed to thrum with life, which was very surprising.

Iruka chalked it up to faulty wiring in the house. His screwdriver found no purchase on the door, there were no hinges of any kind attached to the oddity. A small keyhole sat under the knob, but there was no key to be found.

Scratching his head, Iruka was at a loss. He went and sat on his bed, wondering what on earth could be on the other side of that door, and where the key might be.

Iruka looked at his clock and winced, embarrassed by how late he’d stayed up over a silly curiosity.

Relenting for the moment, Iruka went and shut the door to the stairs, effectively stopping the cool air.

He slipped into bed and shut the light, falling asleep almost instantly.