Chapter Text
Gundham's POV
"I promised I'd keep her here. But I knew that she'd want to leave eventually."
Gundham slowly stands up and looks into the mirror deeply.
He shakes his head and sighs, "I have to do this, after today, she'll never want to leave our forest again."
Gundham turns his head slowly but slightly.
"Please don't look at me like that," gesturing towards the devas, "They trusted me with this duty. No matter how extreme it is..... I will do what it takes to keep her here. That was their last wish for me."
"She has to see how they really see us."
Y/n's POV
'This will surely make a good first impression'
You twirl around in your best outfit, paired with your favorite shawl.
You confidently walk out of your room, ready for whatever the day brings you.
Your presence startles Gundham, who was already in the kitchen.
He squints at you, "What on earth are you wearing?"
"What? This? I read that first impressions are important and you can make a good impression by looking your best!" You beamed, you felt proud.
"That is foolish, you would be burned just for looking like that!"
Gundham hands you a small brown package, "Here, these will be more suitable."
"What is it?"
"Proper attire, you dress like a witch they will treat you like one."
You begin to tear open the packaging.
"This has to be some kind of joke." You say as your face fills with disgust.
"This is for our safety, and so are the other rules you must follow."
You look at Gundham cautiously, "What other "rules" do you have in mind?"
"Go and change, we'll discuss this after you make yourself presentable."
You reluctantly saunter back into your room. You look at the clothes Gundham gave to you. You first take a look at the plain white dress that honestly wouldn't have looked too bad. If it weren't paired with a shaggy brown, itchy robe and poorly made flats that look painful to walk in. You cringe as you put on the overwhelmingly horrific clothing. You hated the way it draped your body and you just wished you could at least change your shawl.
You walk out of your room to see a slightly annoyed Gundham. "Could you have moved any slower, at least now you finally look presentable. We must go post haste."
With that, you both exit the cottage and begin your journey through the forest.
"I feel itchy"
"Don't think about it too hard. While we walk, it is apparent that I must go over the rules for today."
"But I'm already in the ugliest clothes ever!"
Gundham sighed, "It is imperative that you listen. One wrong move can get you arrested."
You tense up, "Okay... go on."
"One, you will not leave the fair into any other part of the city."
"Okay, fine, what else."
"Do not tell a soul where we really reside."
"I feel that one was a given."
"Do not even mention our craft to anyone, not one potion or incantation. "
"An overexaggeration but alright."
"And finally you must keep Jum-P with you at all times, that is a non-negotiable."
"Wait no, I don't want one of your rats hanging around me the whole time!"
Gundham glares, you know it upsets him when you refer to his devas as "rats."
"I need him to stay with you so I can make sure you're not getting in any trouble. You will do it or we will turn around! Do you understand?"
You never liked it when he lectured you like this, "Alright fine whatever. Are you done now?"
"Good, because we are here. Here are some coins for activities and food. Here is Jum-P, you know how to use him to contact me."
"When are we meeting u-" Before you could even finish Gundham seemingly disappeared.
You begin to look around and suddenly feel overwhelmed at the amount of people and life.
You first take note of the stretch of stalls selling different kinds of food. Foods you have never seen or smelled before. You then see the stalls of different knickknacks and goods. But then you see the people, different people with different shapes and builds. Different shades of skin and hair. You start to feel a bit nervous.
You notice a large stage like platform
You begin to slowly walk forward before your stomach groans of hunger. You continue to walk to look for anything familiar. You stop at a stand with mini sandwiches and other small appetizers.
You stare at the assortment, trying to find the proper words, you've never officially bought anything in your lif-
"Well, how can I be of service to a lovely specimen like yourself today?" You look up to see a short, portly man. You were taken aback by his forwardness.
"What is it sweetheart? Are you too afraid of a good time?"
You cringe at his disgusting comments.
Before you could reply, a tall and curvy woman interjects "Hey quit messing around! Some of us are starving here!"
'Those sandwiches looked dry anyways'
You decide to take a seat on the nearest bench. "That was a bust, what should I eat Jum-P"
The hamster just sniffs and scratches his ears with his hind legs in response.
"I don't even know why I bother with you."
He begins to nibble at your cloak.
"Excuse me ma'am."
You look up to see a hooded figure, disheveled white locks peaking out from under. You met his light green eyes as you met his.
"You have a rat on your shoulder." He said bluntly.
"Oh no, he's a pet.... pet hamster, not mine but my brother's."
...
...
...
After a few moments of awkward silence he speaks again.
"I saw what happened over there." He hands you a pastry, "Here. You must still be hungry."
"Thank you. Um I don't know if I can accept this." You take it hesitantly, you slowly inspect what the mysterious man gave you.
"It's only a danish, have you never had one before?"
You were at a loss for words, so many thoughts and feelings began surging through your head but all you could continue to do is stare at the pastry.
The stranger sits down with a sigh, he stares straight ahead, "I'm sorry if I startled you."
"Its alright." You peep quietly.
"You must not be from this kingdom, these are pretty common here."
"I- yes I am.... new here." Your hands shake a bit, you have no idea what to do or say to him.
The stranger doesn't say anything, you never thought about a fake back story. You decide to take a bite of the pastry to calm your nerves.
"Since you're new, I suppose you don't have anyone to watch the main event with."
"Main event- Oh!" You glance over to Jum-P, he shakes his head fearfully. "I don't have anyone to watch it with."
The stranger stands and holds out his hand, "I know a place where we can have a good view and would be more quiet."
You hesitantly grab his hand and slowly stood up. Jum-P starts to squeak nervously.
"You seem anxious buddy, how about a nap?" As risky as it was, you casted a sleep spell under your breathe while stroking his soft fur.
"You're so gentle with him, you have a unique talent for animals." The stranger smilies.
"I know where we can have a great view and where this little guy can sleep more peacefully."
He begins to lead you further through the festival. It feels like you've been walking forever. The farther you walk the more anxious you feel. Pretty soon you realize the thinning of people around you. By this time you both have left the festival and are climbing up a hill. He sits down and pats the ground next to him.
Sitting down, you put Jum-P on your lap.
It's quiet for a bit, the stranger is staring down from the hill silently.
You decide to break the never-ending silence, "So... I uhm... never caught your name."
He looks over to you solemnly, it seems that question made him a bit upset.
"Nagito. Nagito Komeada" He says in a quite tone.
"That's a really nice name, I can't imagine why it would make you upset." You smiled softly.
"Well then..... what about you?"
"It's y/n. Y/n Tanaka"
"Well, welcome to Aslaya, I hope this place is kind to you."
"Greetings everyone!" Both of your heads snap towards the main stage. "My name is Sayaka Maizono and it is an honor to introduce our final event."
The woman on stage had a sparkle in her eyes and spoke with unwavering enthusiasm. "And now we will unveil the exhibit! This year's rendition was created by our very own Angie Yonaga!"
You watch as the exhibit was revealed. It was a large statue made of wood, a feminine figure carved onto a stake. You could see the somehow soft and delicate feature despite the rough medium.
"Woah, that's amazing."
You admire the art, the carved woman, there was something alluring about her, you could barely pay attention to the rest of the woman's spiel. It's almost as if the sculpture was mesmerizing you. Then all of a sudden, the sculpture was set ablaze, breaking you out of your trance. The air around you is filled with cheers, you look towards Nagito, half of his face is covered by his hood. He wasn't cheering like everyone else, you couldn't tell how he felt.
Not knowing what to do, you instinctively place your hand on his shoulder.
"Are you alright Nagito?"
He looks up at you, your eyes meeting his green orbs. He looked bothered.
"Ha. I'm fine, it's just that everyone is so full of hope after such a despair filled event in our history.... it's beautiful."
"Event in your history?"
Nagito looked to the sky solemnly, "It is a pretty tough story for me to tell, especially when you don't know much else about the kingdom."
"I want to learn more! Everything there is to know about this place!"
"That gleam in your eyes inspires me, I can tell you more tomorrow."
'Tomorrow!? Gundham won't let me come back here tomorrow!'
"Is tomorrow night okay? An hour after the sun sets."
You ponder hard. How would you do it without getting caught? Could night possibly be best to meet? Would you be able to find your way here and back?
"Ahh I'm sorry, I bet that sounded creepy, nevermind you don't have to especially being a lady and-"
"No! I'll be here, I promise!"
Your sudden outburst caused Nagito to jump. "Alright alright, I'll see you then."
He gets up and gives you his hand, "I have to go now, I really enjoy your company."
"Oh alright" You take his hand and stand up. "I'll see you tomorrow night then."
With that he disappeared, as if he was never there.~
You leave and walk back through the sea of people to find Gundham.
As you walk around, you take Jum-P into your hands and try to wake him up. "Hey buddy, I don't want to get you into trouble tonight, let's wake up alright."
"There you are." You turn and meet your brother's eyes. "How.... was the festival?"
You debate on telling him about Nagito or how you felt seeing the wooden woman.
"It was fun! And the food was yummy!"
"Interesting" Gundham grimaced.
"Can I go back out tomorrow night?"
"Don't even think about it."
':('