27Nana had always been considered a bit of an odd duck. She knew that, was fine with that. She'd been taught early on not to worry about what the masses thought because their normal was not the same as her normal.
Her normal was much more extraordinary.
For as long as she could remember, Nana had been able to See things. It granted her a unique perspective in life that most people just didn't have the capacity to understand. She mourned that sometimes, that others would never See what she did. Other times, it brought her joy, a secret just for her and her family. She could See the Affinities of peoples souls and they were always so, so beautiful. Her mother's Serenity and her father's Protection. When she looked in the mirror or down at her hands, she could see her own Life Affinity flickering brightly under her skin. It was that same Affinity her grandmother had, though hers was not as vibrant or pure.
Her grandmother taught her how to use it, how to feel the Life in the world around her, how to heal with a touch, how to make plants bloom under her fingertips.
Her mother was calm and showed her how to meditate and used bright blue to soothe her when she was upset. Her father was strong – both a sword and a shield – and taught her how to protect herself, using bright green to harden his body to the point that wooden staffs would shatter when they struck him.
Nana was more than familiar with these aspects of the world around her. So when she met a stranger with an Affinity so strong it danced in the air around him, she wasn't surprised. No, she was surprised by the color.
The man was a Harmony.
Harmonies were rare and treasured. They were to be protected and cared for. They were precious. Her grandfather had had a Harmony Affinity, but he had died just before Nana was born and no one else in their family had shown any kind of inclination towards the Affinity since his passing. She knew stories, had been told all about Harmony and its color and what it represented and how it was used. She knew all of that, but it was different Seeing it.
And it was breathtaking.
Sawada Iemitsu was an odd man and their relationship was a strange one.
Nana never really noticed – she'd never been one to follow or even understand mainstream conventions anyway. Iemitsu was very dedicated to his work and there was something in his eyes when he talked about it that told Nana he wasn't telling the truth, not all of it at least. There were shadows that followed him around sometimes, not just in his eyes, but dodging his footsteps as well. There were times when he would seem hunted, haunted, and Nana was only ever able to tell because she could See it. She never pressed, never pried. She had secrets too, after all, and she wasn't ready to share them either. She could wait.
(She didn't realize yet that it didn't matter how long she waited – Iemitsu was never going to tell. Even when his secrets started knocking on her door.)
They were married in spring.
It was a small ceremony – mostly her family and a few close friends. Nana was head over heels in love and Iemitsu looked at her like she was the center of his whole world. He was her Harmony and she was his Life and they weren't Bonded, not yet, but they were so close, Nana could taste it.
It was perfect.
Holding her son for the first time was by far, the most cherished moment of her life. She's sweaty and gross and tired and out of breath, but at the same time, she's the most satisfied she's ever been. She cradled him close and hummed in agreement as Iemitsu named him Tsunayoshi, her fingers gently tracing the soft slope of his cheek, his button nose, his fluffy hair. Iemitsu watched closely at her shoulder, practically glowing.
Her boy's face scrunched up and they chuckled.
Nana marveled at what she Sees.
Iemitsu was bright orange to her Sight, all fire and heat and light. But Tsunayoshi – Tsuna, her little Tsu-kun, her precious baby boy – was sunset orange dipped in gold. Her son was a Harmony. More so than his father, more than any other she had ever heard stories of.
His Affinity sung to her – warmthlovehomeIamyoursandyouaremine – as he cooed in her arms.
Iemitsu beamed next to her, every bit the proud father and Nana knew that he couldn't tell, that he couldn't hear their son's song calling out to his own, couldn't See him at all even though he was so impossibly bright, so impossibly pure. But that's okay because her husband was obviously in love with their child just as much as she.
"He's perfect, Nana! Our little Tuna-fishy, oh my gosh, he's so small, Nana, look at him, he's amazing and he's ours –"
Nana laughed, tears streaming down her cheeks, as she listened to Iemitsu babble, completely exhausted, but so, so happy she couldn't do anything else.
Iemitsu could only get so much time off from work. He'd stayed with her the last two months of her pregnancy and then the next five after the birth. He promised to write and call and told her to take pictures of everything their son did so he could see it all when he came back. She laughed and agreed, waving him off at the airport, little Tsu-kun in her arms.
Three days later, she bundled her son into the car and made the trek north to her parents' home. They loved their new grandson instantly and Nana laughed when they started arguing over who got to hold him.
"He's lovely, Nana," her father, Tamaki, told her softly while her mother, Kohaku, cooed over Tsu-kun.
"He is," Nana agreed, turning to face him, the green light she'd grown up watching flickering under his skin.
"What's all this then?"
Nana grinned and spun around, sunshine gold filling her vision. "Baba!"
Her grandmother smiled at her from the entryway, sightless eyes roving over the room and resting on her mother and son. "Our newest light?" she asked as she stepped forward and accepted Nana's hug.
"Mm! My little Tsu-kun!" Nana agreed, helping the elderly woman to the couch.
"Ahh, Nana, I'm fine, I'm fine! I can walk to the couch myself!" she chided, a good natured smile on her face.
"You were complaining about your knees just this morning, Mom," Tamaki deadpanned.
"Hush, you," she scolded, while Nana hid giggles behind her hand.
Kohaku smiled and moved to hand Tsu-kun over. "Here, Hinata-san. Meet Tsunayoshi. Tsu-kun, this is your Baba."
Her son cooed and Hinata startled. "A Harmony," she murmured in wonder, fingertips tracing over features lightly, memorizing the face of her great-grandson, "…There is wind in this one's soul."
Nana blinked at her grandmother and exchanged looks with her parents.
"Mom?" Tamaki asked.
Hinata stared at Tsu-kun, sightless eyes Seeing something even Nana couldn't discern. On her back, a pair of wings with feathers gray and worn from age stirred. She looked up at them and smiled.
"This one was meant to fly," she said.
Tsuna was a wonderful toddler.
He was bright and curious and Nana loved watching the way he interacted with the world around him. Sunset orange flickered under his skin and across his eyes and Nana would flare her sunny yellow in response and smile at the way her son would light up as if she had just gifted him the sun, the moon, and all the stars. She played the same games with him that she remembered her parents playing with her when she was young. Ones that taught control, how to cox the light out into the open, how to make it sing. Tsuna would giggle and bat gently at her Life with his Harmony and Nana would help him shape it.
She also kept an eye out for his Talent. While most of her family leaned toward Sight when it came to Talents, her father was Empathetic. Such things needed to be handled carefully or the child could suffer. So far, from what she had seen, Tsuna didn't have any indicators for either Talent. He did have a few pointing towards Prescience, a Talent that was rarer than even a Harmony Affinity.
"Ara, you're a special one aren't you, Tsu-kun?" she murmured.
Tsuna just blinked up at her and smiled.
All the while Iemitsu sent postcards and called on special occasions. Nana would just sigh and smile fondly at the stories he would weave for her, knowing that it was fear that kept him from speaking the full truth to her and hoping that the shadows she had Seen trailing after her husband had diminished at least a little.
Years passed this way.
When Tsuna turned five, Iemitsu came home.
Timoteo was a kind old man.
But he had shadows darker than Iemitsu.
Still, Iemitsu obviously respected him and cared for him enough to bring him home to meet her and Tsuna. Her little boy clung to her skirt, shy in the face of these strangers and part of Nana ached over the fact that he didn't recognize who Iemitsu was, but she didn't blame him. She smiled at her husband's obvious joy at seeing them both again and laughed when Iemistu scooped Tsuna up into his arms.
She was happy he was home.
Tsuna eventually wandered out back to play, Timoteo and Iemistu keeping an eye on him, while she went into the kitchen to prepare some snacks for them.
A sudden shriek from the backyard pulled her from her thoughts, but she heard Iemitsu trying to calm her son, so she didn't worry about it too much. She peaked out of the kitchen just to make sure everything was alright.
Her heart froze.
Iemitsu was holding Tsuna in his arms. Tsuna who was still and silent. Tsuna who was colorless, lightless. The golden flicker that surrounded him since the moment he was born was gone.
"TSUNA!"
Her son's name ripped itself out of her throat and his was in her arms before she even registered moving. What happened?! Why was Iemitsu so calm?! Their son was dead! He was –
He was alive.
She could feel the rise and fall of his chest, the warmth of his skin. He was alive. But his light was gone. With a trembling hand, she tucked his head against her shoulder and looked up.
Iemitsu was staring at her in surprise, hands up as if to placate her.
"What happened?" she asked before he could speak, unable to keep the tremble from her voice.
"Nothing, Nana, he's fine," her husband said, "He took a little tumble, that's all. Scared himself a bit, but he's fine."
She stared at him, Saw the shadows that curled around him and frowned. She looked at Timoteo and saw that he wasn't worried that much either – he seemed just as surprised by her reaction as Iemitsu. How could they not know? She knew neither of them could See. She knew that. But how could both of them shine so brightly and not be able to tell that something was wrong?
"He was climbing the tree," Timoteo said, with a nod to indicate which one, "He slipped and ended up falling, but he isn't hurt. Just a scare is all."
A scare wouldn't do this to her boy. A scare wouldn't take his light away. Her eyes narrowed and she Looked at the old man her husband had brought home. He was a Harmony as well, perhaps brighter than Iemitsu, but not brighter that her Tsu-kun. It was close to the surface, not under his skin like it had been during his stay. That meant he'd used it recently. Slowly, dread clawing at her stomach, she Looked down at her son. His Harmony was no where in Sight, but there was a flicker of light – dim, faint, barely there in a blink and you miss it kind of way – right in the center of his forehead. A flicker that matched Timoteo's Harmony.
He had done something horrible to her boy.
And he lied to her about it.
Iemitsu lied to her about it.
"I think," she said softly, not looking at either of them, "that it's time the two of you left."
Her husband blinked at her, bewildered. "Nana, what –"
She smiled at him, eyes cold and hard, even as she felt her Life roaring in anger in her chest. "Let me put Tsu-kun down for his nap and then I'll help you gather your things!" she chirped.
Iemitsu called after her, but she ignored him, heading up the stairs and into Tsuna's room. He stirred as she set him down.
"Mama?" he slurred, his voice faint, eyes hazy and confused.
"Mama's here, baby," she soothed, pushing his hair back.
He leaned into her touch. "'S cold," he whined, curling in on himself.
Her heart ached and helplessness clawed at her. Carefully, she pulled up the fire that rested in her soul and pressed the Life into her son's skin. He relaxed, but Nana only felt more worried, where there was once bright light, there was nothing but a void.
"I know, Tsu-kun," she said, biting back her rising panic, "We'll go see your grandparents soon, okay? They'll be able to fix it."
She hoped.
She'd never heard of anything like this happening before. She prayed it could be fixed.
Oh, Tsu-kun, what do I do?
Nana's side of the family is descended from Angels. They aren't the only ones and there's a bit of a secret society that houses most of these individuals that lives in harmony with those that are regular humans. They are aware of other groups that use Affinities (i.e. Flames) but they tend to keep to themselves, so no one is really aware of them.
Affinity vs. Flames:
Harmony = Sky
Life = Sun
Peace = Rain
Protection = Lightning
Passion = Storm
Freedom = Cloud
Creation = Mist
Talents:
Prescience = Having or showing knowledge of events before they take place. Rarest of all Talents, but mostly found in those with a Harmony Affinity.
Empathy = The ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Most common Talent, though mostly found in those with Peace, Protection, or Passion Affinities.
Sight = The ability to see the truth of the world around you. Uncommon Talent, mostly found in those with Life or Freedom Affinities.
Telekinesis = The ability to move objects at a distance by mental power or other nonphysical means. Common Talent, mostly found in those with Freedom or Peace Affinities.
Telepathy = The power to receive and/or transmit emotions and/or thoughts between individuals. Common Talent, mostly found in those with Creation Affinities.
Until next time,
~Elri