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As a child, Daichi was often warned not to venture into the woods surrounding the village. The woods, they said, were home to all manner of tricksters and bandits, villains who were waiting in the shadows of the tall oaks to pray on the unsuspecting passerby. Daichi, being the son of a nobleman, would be an especially prized target. He would do well, they told him, to avoid traveling through the woods at all costs, if he could help it. And heed their warnings he did. Daichi spent his days in the castle, overlooking the village and the forest beyond.
But some small part of Daichi—a small, nagging curiosity—longed to venture into the woods. Daichi would never admit it out loud, but he wanted to explore those woods. And if he happened upon a trickster, well, he wouldn't be too terribly upset. There was a certain appeal to the risk, if Daichi were to be honest. But at twenty, he had never gone farther than the edge of the village. Well, he would just have to change that.
That autumn, he got his chance. In the chaos that was the Emperor's impending arrival, Daichi managed to sneak out of the castle during broad daylight. He took two attendants with him, two younger men named Kei and Tadashi. He had stolen three swords from the armory, and they had been off. They left through the gardens, making a beeline for a long forgotten gate in the back wall. Once through, they followed an old path down the hill. They reached the forest within minutes. It had been so easy, Daichi was amazed that he hadn't tried sooner.
Tadashi tried to talk Daichi out of their little adventure at least three times as they walked, citing multiple reasons why they should head back, one being that neither Kei nor himself had any sort of formal sword training. Kei didn't try to talk Daichi out of it, but he did casually mention that, given that it was a very spur of the moment decision on Daichi's part, Daichi was in fact dressed like a noble, and therefore didn't exactly blend in with the forest.
"Unhelpful, but duly noted," was all Daichi had said in response as he walked into the line of trees.
The forest was quiet, picturesque. Sunlight filtered through the canopy, casting everything in shadow. The path they were taking clearly hadn't been used for a long while. The dirt track was covered in leaves and twigs in various state of decay. Overgrown plants brushed their legs as they walked single file, Daichi in front and Kei bringing up the rear. They could hear the sound of running water in the distance, the river, Daichi guessed. The scene was tranquil, and it put Daichi at ease.
After what could have been as little as five minutes or as much as an hour, Tadashi spoke up, "My Lord, maybe we should consider heading back now? Before we go too far and get lost?"
"He has a point," Kei said. "We're not exactly familiar with the forest."
"I think," Daichi said, pausing at a fork in the path, "that you two have no sense of adventure."
Kei clicked his tongue, but didn't argue with Daichi. Daichi turned to look at his two attendants, giving them a placating smile. Kei looked annoyed. Tadashi looked about ready to bolt.
Daichi exhaled, "Alright, how's this? We'll only go a little bit farther, then we'll turn back. I think I saw a clearing up ahead, and I want to take a look."
Kei and Tadashi shared a look before turning back to Daichi. They nodded in agreement.
"Perfect, off we go," Daichi said.
They took the left-hand path. Daichi noted as they walked that this path seemed better maintained than the other had been. Someone used this path regularly. Daichi rested a hand on the hilt of his sword, tensing as he glanced from side to side. They entered the clearing and crossed about halfway before a faint rustling caught Daichi's attention. He stopped, unsheathing his sword marginally.
"My Lord?" Kei whispered.
"Be on alert," Daichi muttered.
"Well well well, what do we have here?" came a menacing voice from behind the trio.
Daichi spun on his heel, sword in hand. Kei and Tadashi followed suit with swords of their own. At the edge of the clearing was a bald man. Daichi noted that he was dressed to blend in with the trees, all muted browns and greens, and that he was in possession of a rather large club. He flashed the trio a sharp grin, swinging the club in lazy arcs.
"Looks like I found a some songbirds a little too far from the nest," the man said.
"Is he supposed to be an oni?" Kei asked Tadashi, loud enough for the other man to hear him. Tadashi let out a nervous scoff in response.
The man frowned and brandished his club at Kei. "What was that, you smug, little shit?" he shouted. "I'll knock that dumb smirk right off your face!"
"Really? By yourself? Impressive," Kei deadpanned.
The man titled his head and grinned. Daichi immediately tensed.
"I think we're not alone," Daichi murmured to his compatriots.
"What makes you say that?" Tadashi whispered in response.
There was a rustle, then a shout, and the trio found themselves surrounded by men dressed similarly to the one with the club. They all advanced until they formed a tight circle around Daichi and the others, weapons drawn.
"Call it a hunch," Daichi said.
A man with silver hair stepped forward, a playful gleam in his brown eyes. "You three are awfully brave to journey into the woods. Didn't your parents warn you about the thieves and rouges in the trees?"
Daichi could feel the tips of his ears go red; the man wasn't that much older than Daichi was, and he was one of the most enchanting men Daichi had ever seen. Daichi wanted to run his hands through that starlight colored hair. He had to fight with himself to keep his sword up, because he was in danger of lowering it.
"What, no witty retort?" the man asked. "Have I stolen your tongue? That's a new record, boys!"
This got a laugh from the assembled motley crew. Daichi took a moment to size them up. In addition to the bald man and the apparent leader there was a large man with his hair pulled back in a knot and a large blacksmith's hammer in his hands, a shorter man with piercing eyes and a dagger, another shaved man and a man with sandy hair a shade darker than Kei's. They both had swords. Daichi and his attendants were woefully outnumbered.
Kei took a step forward, "This is all well and good, but we have somewhere to be. Can we go now? I can think of better ways to spend an afternoon than getting mugged by some miscreants."
"Oi! Show our leader some respect!" the bald man shouted, lurching towards Kei with his club.
The leader placed a hand on the other man's chest, amusement obvious. "Stand down, Ryuu." Turning to face Kei, he continued, "I'm surprised to see a castle boy with a bite."
Kei glared at the leader, his hand tightening on the hilt of his sword. The band of thieves reacted instantly, weapons raised towards Kei. Daichi put his hand out, stopping Kei from advancing.
"Wise move," the leader commented. "But I do think it'd be best if you gave those swords to us for safe keeping. We wouldn't want you to hurt yourselves. Asahi."
The leader gestured, and the large man with the hammer—Asahi—stepped forward and held his hand out for the swords. Daichi stared at him incredulously.
"It's a lot easier to give me the swords than it would be for me to take them by force," Asahi said. "I'd rather not hurt you."
"You softie, you," the leader muttered, his tone soft and fond.
Daichi weighed his options. They could refuse to hand over the swords and fight. The only outcome Daichi could see with that option was death. They could hand over the weapons. That left them defenseless if the thieves decided they were going to kill them anyway. Daichi picked the third option: stall for time.
"What do you want from us?" Daichi asked.
"What any thief would want," the leader said, "valuables. We can discuss what that term means after you hand over your weapons."
"My Lord?" Tadashi asked.
"Do it," Daichi sighed, passing his sword to Asahi.
"Compliant, I like that," the leader mused as Kei and Tadashi handed over their swords.
"Sorry," Asahi muttered to Daichi, "it's nothing personal." Asahi stepped back to stand next to the leader, shoving the swords into the ground.
The leader placed his hands on his hips and grinned, "Well, I'm glad this is going well, but now here comes the not fun part. Yuu, frisk 'em."
The smaller thief flashed the leader a smile and sheathed his dagger, "Can do Sugawara-san!" Yuu moved towards Tadashi first. Kei glared at the thief as he began to pat down Tadashi. Coming up empty, Yuu turned his attentions to Kei. Again, he found nothing. Daichi stood up straighter as the short thief stepped up to him. Feather-light, Yuu ran his fingers around Daichi's clothing. He came away with several pieces of decorative jewelry, but otherwise found nothing else.
"There, you found something," Daichi said. "Can we go now?"
Sugawara frowned, clearly disappointed. Yuu pressed some of the jewelry into Sugawara's hand, glaring back at Daichi.
"We can probably sell those and the swords for a fair amount," the sandy haired thief pointed out.
"I don't doubt that, Hisashi," Sugawara murmured.
"Sorry, if I had known we were going to be robbed, I would have brought a lot more with me," Daichi huffed.
Sugawara's eyes snapped from the jewelry to Daichi's face, pinning him with his stare. A shiver ran through Daichi that had nothing to do with the temperature. Sugawara gave Daichi a once over, then grinned. "I wonder how much you'd be worth?"
Kei and Tadashi tensed behind Daichi, ready to leap into action if needed. Daichi would be lying if he said his blood didn't run cold in that moment. Sugawara must have been joking, however, as he covered his mouth with his hand a snickered.
"The look on your face," he mused. "No, that's not how we do things. These will suffice."
Daichi couldn't find it in him to relax fully, but he did release some of the tension from his shoulders. "So, can we go?"
Sugawara tapped his cheek with his finger; he was planning his next move. Daichi kept himself from fidgeting.
After a minute, Sugawara spoke, "You can go if you give me a kiss on the cheek. I'll even get Kazuhito to escort you back down the trail."
Kei gaped at Sugawara, "I'm sorry, what?"
Sugawara gave Kei a shrug in return, "I think it's a fair trade."
"He could have asked for worse," Tadashi muttered in agreement. He let out a quiet, "Sorry " when Kei turned to glare at him.
Daichi eyed Sugawara. "Just one kiss?" he asked.
Sugawara tapped his cheek again. "Right here."
With a sigh, Daichi stepped closer to Sugawara. He could do this. Sugawara was attractive, and he could do this. Daichi leaned forward to press his lips to Sugawara's cheek when the man whipped his head around. He caught Daichi's lips with his own in a chaste kiss, and time slowed for a moment. Daichi vaguely registered that Kei and Tadashi were shouting, as were Sugawara's band of thieves, but in that moment all Daichi could focus on was the feeling of Sugawara's lips on his. It was actually rather pleasant.
Sugawara pulled back after a few seconds and patted Daichi on the cheek. "See? Not so bad, now was it? Kazuhito, escort these fine men back down the trail for me."
The sudden shift in attitude left Daichi's head spinning. Sugawara winked at Daichi and gave him a little wave as the other bald man—Kazuhito—nudged Daichi back the way they had come from.
"Come back and visit anytime," Sugawara called as they left the clearing.
"Bring something good next time," Ryuu shouted.
Kazuhito lead them back down the path, leaving them only when they reached the edge of the woods. He gave them a brief wave, then turned and disappeared into the trees. Kei made a rude gesture at the tree line, then dragged Tadashi back up the path. Daichi followed behind, lost in thought. Truth be told, Daichi knew that he should never go back to the forest. He had gotten lucky that Sugawara had opted to take a few trinkets and only that. But Daichi would gladly take another trip if it meant seeing Sugawara and his band of merry criminals. The man had stolen his heart.