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You never would’ve believed the gods could lose their power, but you supposed others were easier to scare than others. Assumptions made from superstitions never really surprised you, until you found yourself at the center of them. The outlier, the unwanted, and the unworthy… You were all of these things. You lived on the edge of an old, old village at the base of a mountain. There you were alone, save for the few livestock and frail existence of a farm. Your parents had abandoned you ages ago and the only time you ever visited the village was when you had to sell what little you had. Every so often you would visit one of the smaller shrines, scattered about the village, offering what you could before returning to the outskirts. Old habits die hard you supposed, even if you barely believed in the old gods yourself anymore…
The day everything started, well, was one of the days you had to make your way to the merchant streets of the village. You heard whispers of things here and there, trading had its perks of learning information but you never really paid mind to gossip if you could help it. Soon you found, that the village was awash with fear; the rumors that the god at the top of the mountain had lost its power. Others said that the gods had forsaken them and traveled to the eastern mountains, forever leaving the village to the elements and monsters alike. You heard talk of a ritual that would be performed later in the week but gave it no thought. It’s not like you would be allowed to attend the ritual anyways. The gods had already forsaken you for all you knew and whatever rumors floating around wouldn’t be able to stomp out what already little faith you had left in them.
Dragging your feet, you headed back to the outskirts of the village where you supposed you belonged. About halfway back to your home you saw a few men, probably on their way back from hunting or fishing, dotted along the trail. You passed by them without making any eye contact. Nothing good ever came from garnering attention as you found out many times in the past. However you didn’t fail to feel their gazes on your back while you passed them. After passing the last one, you picked up your walking pace, determined to get away from their stares as fast as you could.
That night you slept with your wood cutting axe by your bed, wary of the possibility that they would show up at your house. When the morning came, you found your fears were baseless, and there was no sign of anyone. ‘Of course no one would come here.’ You thought, leaning against the fence while the morning sun warmed the earth. With a sigh you picked up whatever things you could carry and set out to get to work. Crops needed to be tended to, your animals needed to be fed along with other needs. Daily work that you knew like the back of you hand, sometimes would have other tasks sprinkled in. Foraging was one of these said tasks. Occasionally you’d set off into the forests in search of herbs and things you found you couldn’t get to grow on your dingy farm. It brought in more money, if you could manage to find anything that is. But you knew a certain merchant was in town who would pay a high price for some of the herbs found in the forest, so you told yourself it wouldn’t hurt to look for a little bit.
The next few days continued in the same matter, leading up to you having to visit the village by the end of the week to exchange your goods. But for some reason you couldn’t shake the feeling that something had been watching you as the days went by. Perhaps it was a wild animal, waiting to pick up scraps for itself, and maybe it was something else… you hadn’t a clue what it could be. Eventually, however, you got used to it, one way or another. On the third day you were looking around the forest as usual, nothing new other than the few flowers that had sprung up here and there as the late spring rains came in. You started to wander deeper and deeper into the forest, past the points that you had reached earlier, in search for more herbs…. but also to satiate your curiosity. Truth be told, you had never been this far into the forest. People always said it was dangerous, though you couldn’t say that you had seen any sort of dangerous animals roaming around that could warrant such a warning.
It wasn’t until you started to get deeper and deeper into the deepest depths of the forest that you started to get a little anxious. You could hear a low drum start to get louder, and every time it sounded, you felt your heart creep further and further into your throat. Soon you were able to hear the low voices of people, seemingly hushed. You felt like you were intruding in on something you shouldn’t be, making the dread that hung in the air even more nerve wracking… Your hands trembled as you tried to take hold of a branch for stability, but your nerve riddled self slipped on the wet ground. You slipped over the mossy roots and stones around the tree and fell hard enough on your back that the wind knocked out of you.
Shouts rang out from above you, and it didn’t take long until people came running over. You being in your inebriated state, couldn’t quite catch your breath fast enough for you to get away. They caught hold of you immediately and with a swift hit to the back of your head, your vision cut off and you lost all consciousness.
–
Slowly but surely you woke up, the stench of blood greeting your nostrils with such a sharp stench that it almost made you want to pass out again. You realized that the stench of blood was not a good thing to be smelling and you bolted upright, quickly moving your hands to the back of your head, smoothing over the bump that was fresh. There wasn’t any blood when you inspected your hands leaving you to inspect the rest of your body. The first thing you noticed is that your clothes had changed and your hair was wet. In fact, your whole body was a bit damp… A shiver ran up your spine and thoughts raced in your mind. Someone had bathed you while you were out, and you loathed to think of just who it was.
You inspected the robes you were wearing. They were all white, and pretty thin you noted. On closer inspection you could tell that they were ceremonial robes, and for what you didn’t know. Or really, you didn’t want to know. Your shoes were gone as well as any other items you had been carrying before you were knocked out. Speaking of, you could still hear the low drumming that you heard before, except this time it was louder. You must’ve been taken into wherever those people had come from, and from their reactions to you it’d be safe to say that you weren’t exactly an honored guest right now.
The sliding door to the room was unsurprisingly locked as you found out from trying to yank it open. You didn’t have much choice than to wait for whoever to come get you… and come get you they did. As the lock on the door released, two men dressed in priests’ clothes stepped inside, their hands full of sacred rope. The thing was, you had never seen these men in the village before and you wondered just how far into the forest you had gone… Your hair stood on end and you stumbled backwards in fear, backing up so that you were against the wall. They closed the door so you couldn’t escape, and quickly seized you by the arm. You were outmatched so they quickly bound your hands together as well as tying a rope around your neck. It took every fiber of your being to not break down into sobs, even though you so desperately wanted to. There was no telling what they were going to do to you, but you had a bad feeling that it was going to involve a lot of… less than pleasant things.
The two priests pulled you out of the small room and led you through a series of halls that you would’ve got lost in even if you had been able to unlock the door. Soon you were outside and there was a handful of people waiting for you. Your heart raced wildly as they led you over to a litter type carriage. It was open into the air but had ornaments and other things strewn about around the cushion you had to sit on. Before you were allowed on it, you were forced to rinse your mouth, for purification purposes you guessed. As soon as you were situated on the litter, one of the priests bounded your feet together with more sacred rope.
Looking around it all started to make sense. You could see the guardian fox statues carved into the cold stone, teeth barred and eyes that seemed to be staring right through you. The red and white lanterns that lit up the stairs that twisted into the mountains, and the effigies that lined the path under the dim glow.
You were in the mountain shrine right now, and if you were remembering right, the ritual that was supposed to happen was… happening right now… with you. But it certainly didn’t feel like any other ritual that you’d heard of. Something felt distinctly off, and you weren’t sure what entailed in appeasing a god, although you couldn’t think of anything that sounded… good. For example the stench of blood in the air definitely wasn’t ideal… but you didn’t exactly see anything that could be responsible for the stench. Either way it wasn’t something comforting to say the least. Before you could think anymore about what fate that lay in sight, you were hoisted into the air on the litter by a few of what you could only call the shrine keepers. Everyone began their ascent up the stone stairs and with every step you could hear the sound of shrine bells and chimes.
With each step you could also feel yourself feeling worse and worse. Sweat from your hands was enough to dampen parts of your robes, your breath shallow as your heart sat in your throat. Your eyes stung with tears you couldn’t shed and you felt like you might throw up at any second. And slowly but surely, you were brought up the stairs and to the main shrine closer to the top of the mountain. As soon as you were, the litter was placed on top of what you could only guess was an altar. Or an offering table… either way it wasn’t exactly good.
Looking around you could see a massive shrine, obviously dedicated to the mountain god. Though, it wasn’t as shiny and grand as you thought it was going to be. You figured it was because god’s power was dwindling. There were some other shrines dotted around the grounds, but they didn’t look as impressive as the main one. You sighed, wishing you could’ve come see this in… less than sacrificial circumstances.
You were instructed to turn to face the doors to the inner shrine and given an ornate bottle of sake to hold. ‘Of course the gods need drink with their dinner.’You thought mockingly to yourself. There was a bitter smile on your face as you looked up at the tarnished gold plating around the shrine doors. Incense was lit and whatever priests that were behind you started to chant and pray. It lasted for what seemed like forever, until they both walked up the steps and past you to ring the giant shrine bell. They then hurried past you to join the others, who were just as eager to get away from the shrine as soon as possible. You swallowed hard.
As soon as everyone was gone and the ringing from the shrine bells had died down, you watched as the inner shrine doors cracked open. You held your breath and waited for whatever monster of a god to step forward. Needless to say, neither of you were expecting what the other would look like.
The second the door cracked open you were expecting some decrepit, old, nasty looking thing to be staring you down with eyes full of hunger and hate. So when the young face of a duo hair colored god peered out from behind the shrine door, you honestly thought you were imagining things. When he saw you were alone he seemed to relax a little and came into full view. He had two different colored eyes; his right eye was brown while his left eye was a lighter blue. His hair split into two shades of white and red; white on the right and red on the left along with two fox ears that matched, perched on top of his hair. His clothes more or less matched the same color scheme of white and red, looking similar to your own white robes but more ornate, long, and regal. There were some golden ornaments and trinkets that decorated his robes along with gold swirls and patterns towards the ends of his sleeves. You didn’t miss the red divine markings on his face matching exactly to the guardian fox statues that you had seen before. The whole thing was breathtaking to say the least.
He seemed to study you as intently as you were studying him. His eyes seemed to linger on the rope binding your arms and feet, along with the one tied to your neck before flickering to the sake bottle in your arms. Part of you hoped that he would see how much you really didn’t want to be here and let you go, but the other part knew you would never get that lucky. After inspecting you, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair, ears twitching.
“What are you supposed to be?” He asked you, obviously a little confused to the situation.
“Uhhhh… I believe I’m what you’d call… a sacrifice?” You spoke, voice going a little higher than necessary, but hey, you were scared.
He didn’t really seem to like the answer as his eyes narrowed. Taking a few steps forward he reached out, soft hand going to hold your chin up as he studied you closer, going to tilt your head to the side. You couldn’t see him as he angled your face away but you could feel how close his face was to yours as he took in a deep breath, taking in what scent you had, pausing there next to you for a moment that seemed like forever. A shiver ran up your spine as your hair stood on end. In all honesty you weren’t sure if you should be flustered or afraid, but it didn’t matter as he pulled away, seemingly deep in thought.
“I know you.” He breathes, eyes flashing with recognition. “You leave me offerings often.”
“Y-You know me?” You almost wheeze, unsure if you’re flattered or not.
“Yes, you’re the one who doesn’t smell like the scent of man.” He said, tilting his head. “You were sneaking around my mountain recently.”
“I wouldn’t call it sneaking…” You trailed off, unsure if he’d even appreciate hearing your plight.
And you weren’t sure if it was a good thing that you didn’t smell like, well, a human?? You guessed that some gods might not like the smell of humans, since they’re impure or whatever it is. The god standing in front of you looked like he was deep in thought again, probably trying to think about how to tackle the situation at hand. At this point could you even return to your farm? You were pretty sure if you were seen in town again after being offered as a sacrifice that the townspeople would kill you themselves out of rage.
You were brought out of your own thoughts as you noticed the mountain god walk away and back into the inner shrine. Before he disappeared into the darkness, you didn’t fail to notice the two twin fox tails, part of you wondering how nice it’d be to bury your face in the soft fur. When he came back out he almost gave you a heart attack as he drew a dagger from its scabbard and stalked forward to you. You flinched as the blade neared you and for half a second you really thought he was going to kill and eat you. As soon as he grabbed your bound wrists and cut the robes that bound them you realized that he was letting you go.
“You’re not going to eat me?” You asked, slightly confused. He stopped and gave you an incredulous look.
“I’m a god. I cannot consume the impurities of humans.” He stated dully.
“Impurities?” You mumbled to yourself.
“Beasts eat beasts but humans are monsters- they consume everything.”
You couldn’t argue with that, considering how you’ve seen all the horrendous things in your life. He mumbled something to get you to shift your legs out so he could undo the binds there but as soon as you started to shift your legs out from under you, you heard the sound of an arrow flying through the air as it whistled past your face. You whipped your head towards the mountain god only to see the arrow buried squarely into his right shoulder. He had a look on his face that was a cross between unimpressed and offended. In fact, he didn’t even blink as he ripped the arrow from his shoulder and threw it aside. You watched in horror as the wound spouted blood all the while he stood there unfazed. The dagger he held in his right hand switched to his left as he stared down something in the distance until he suddenly threw the blade with such force that it was hard to believe he didn’t just shoot it like an arrow out of a bow. It shot through the air at blinding speeds before hitting its target, whomst of which let out a dying scream.
The mountain god slowly made his approach over to the spot, just out of distance for you before grabbing his dagger and cleaning the blade with his already blood soiled robes. You shot up, the bottle of sake long forgotten as it clanked onto the litter before falling on to the wooden shrine floor. As soon as he came into range you tried to step forward, forgetting that your feet were still bound together. You soon found yourself, very much falling right onto the god himself to which he let out a grunt, his good arm coming up to hold onto you as your hands grasped for purchase on his robes. As soon as you got yourself back up on your own two feet, although not very steady at all, you looked up to him with panic filled eyes.
“A-Are you okay?!” You asked, almost falling over trying to inspect his robes. “You were- the arrow- and your, your robes!!” You fussed.
“Wh… what are you going on about?” He asked, looking down at you with puzzled eyes. “It’s fine.”
“It’s fine?? You literally just got shot with an arrow!!” You fuss more, trying to inspect his wound through the layers of his robes. It was then you noticed that the arrow wound had already stopped bleeding. You stopped to look back up from the bloodied robes to his face which held a passive expression. He seemed neither annoyed or pleased, just, confused by your behavior.
“But…” You trailed off, not really sure what to think anymore.
Not a moment later your binds around your feet were cut and you never thought you’d miss the feeling of being able to move freely so much. Looking back over to the litter you scowled at the memory of those priests tying you up like some animal. You wondered why they didn’t just catch a boar and offer that instead of trying to offer a human. Thinking back to all those rumors of the gods losing their powers made you think they probably thought a human sacrifice would be quicker at returning the lost strength to the gods. Speaking of, you wouldn’t have guessed the mountain god had lost any of his power from watching him not too long ago. He seemed pretty strong and ready to go at a moments notice to you.
“You can leave whenever you please.” His words brought you out of your thoughts.
The god made a move to leave the area, which was pretty smart considering that there was now a dead body next to the shrine grounds. There’s no doubt that someone would come looking for their assassin friend soon. So, you decided to follow in kind and leave with him, to which he wasn’t expecting. As you followed him down an old mountain trail he seemed to gain a sort of exasperated mood to him. It didn’t help that you started asking questions either.
“W-Wait! Where are you going?” You called out after him, almost out of breath having to hop from boulder to boulder over a rushing stream. “What’s your name anyways?”
He let out a sigh, obviously not really used to having someone accompany him. His ears were slightly backed as he continued on, trying his best to hurry along the trail.
“You can call me Shouto.” He said, just loud enough for you to barely hear him.
You could barely keep up with him as he made his way along the trail, mostly because you reckoned he knew this way like the back of his hand. It seemed like it was made ages ago, all the effigies, statues, and stone lanterns were covered in moss, long forgotten by the humans who lived in the area. You almost slipped a few times, half yelling out as you almost fell off the steep trail, causing him to look back at you every time. By the fourth time you could tell he was already regretting letting you follow him, and there was no telling how long you were going to stick around for.
“Where are we going?” You asked, finally being able to catch up. Shouto stopped abruptly and you bumped into him from behind.
“Well I need to wash the blood from my robes.” He said turning to you slightly. You looked over the blood as he continued on, “But why… why are you following me?”
“Um!” Your response came out faster than you wanted it to, though in reality your answer was quite simple. “I can’t go back home.”
Shouto’s face scrunched up in confusion, clearly not sure as to why you couldn’t just wander back from whence you came. You didn’t need to guess his question since it was written all over his little face. He opened his mouth as if he was going to ask anyway but you cut him off before he could say anything.
“I can’t go back because- because the villagers will recognize me and they’ll… Oh you know.” You couldn’t really get the right words out of your mouth and hoped that he got the jist of what you were trying to say. The way he blinked at you with a blank sort of expression on his face indicated that he didn’t.
“No… I don’t know.” He said slowly, “Do as you wish, it won’t matter to me.”
It wasn’t too much longer until the two of you came to a small spring with a gentle waterfall. You gaped at the serene atmosphere and could tell that Shouto definitely came here very often. There were things here that you could find in your own home for washing clothes and you wondered how exactly he acquired any of this? Offerings maybe? But who would offer half of these things here? There were also other things like water pots and chopped wood. You never would’ve guessed that Shouto would be running around felling trees and gathering other sorts of things. Did gods even need to eat? He did look like a fox so maybe it was more something that pertained to whatever underlying beast nature he had.
When Shouto began to strip down his layers of robes you barely had time to register that it was probably something you shouldn’t be watching. Watching a divine god disrobe?? You felt like you’d definitely be cursed one way or another. Your hands shot up cover your eyes as a squeak left your lips. You didn’t get to see Shouto look over at you with a somewhat confused expression, but you could definitely hear him sigh. As soon as you heard the sound of water splashing and fabric being scrubbed, you decided to peek between the cracks of your fingers squeaking again as you saw the mostly bare back of him. Heat rushed to your face as you turned yourself away from him completely, screaming at yourself in your mind for even DARING to look at an exposed god.
“Last time I checked, washing clothes wasn’t seen as something so, um, distressing.” Shouto spoke quietly.
Now your face was heated by your embarrassment. Gods, were you the one acting weird here and not him?? Who undresses in front of another person you barely knew? Perhaps gods didn’t have the same social code as humans. It was either that or he just didn’t care.
“It’s not! It’s just, uh, you’re not dressed!” You sputtered out. “It’s indecent!”
“Humans fuss about the oddest things…” He mused, clearly more invested in getting his robes clean.
You sat there for a few minutes, unsure of what exactly to do until Shouto was done. After another few minutes you managed to muster up your courage and turn around. As long as you didn’t make a big deal about it, it wouldn’t be a big deal that he was half naked. He still had his lower pants on that went under the other layers, to which you were very thankful for. With closer inspection, you could tell that he actually had a layer under everything else. It looked like a skin tight black fabric of some sort. You had never seen something like that before as it exposed most of his back, only really covering the arms. It felt like you ogled at it for a little longer than necessary because you practically tore your eyes away as soon as the realization hit you. His back muscles were enough to get anyone drooling, so it took a lot of effort on your part not to.
Once he finished getting out the blood stains on one of the layers, he threw it over onto a large rock nearby. An idea dawned onto you, and you quickly went over to pick up earning you another confused look from the god. Shouto didn’t exactly protest to you taking one of his robes, but you could still tell he was slightly wary. Looking around you found what you assumed to be a drying line, and threw the soaked clothing onto it. All the while you could feel his eyes on you, watching you just to be sure. Or maybe he thought you were going to fall over and into the spring.
For the next few hours things continued in a similar manner, neither of you speaking much. It was a nice silence though, and every so often he would indulge one of your questions as to how gods were like. You found out that technically his power had been waning lately, but it was because people were starting to distance themselves from the gods, and not the other way around. The decline of the gods’ power was mans’ fault, and whatever fate they sowed, they’d reap.
After the clothes had finished drying you noticed that the wound in his right shoulder had already healed while the blood was already washed away from earlier. As Shouto redressed himself you watched as the sun shone through the trees of the forest to illuminate his hair and face. The glow on his hair and face was golden and ethereal, solidifying the fact that he indeed was the god of the mountain. All alone on the mountain… He didn’t seem to notice you staring because he got dressed rather quickly before gathering a few other things to get ready to go back up to the shrine. You continued staring at the place where he once stood, lost in thought.
“Do gods get lonely, Shouto?” You wondered aloud, still staring off into the distance. He paused and looked at you for a moment, a little stunned by your question. There was a pause like he was thinking over the question, until he eventually answered.
“I guess some gods can get lonely.” He said simply.
“Do you get lonely?”
You didn’t get an answer from him as he started to walk back up the trail you came down. You followed him after you realized he was leaving, assuming that he didn’t hear you. The way back up was a little better than coming down, at least for you. Less falling, more walking this time. And you found out that you were not used to the mountain air as you struggled to breathe. Eventually you got back up to the shrine which was empty as always. You stepped back over to the altar, noticing that the litter was gone, and in its place was a basket of various foods. Maybe it was an apology from those followers who tried to sacrifice you to Shouto.
“You can have it.” Shouto said, making his way back over to the doors to the shrine. He opened them wide, letting the natural light flood in as he sat in the doorway.
“Are you sure? It’s for you after all.” You hummed looking over the fruits that sat on top.
“I don’t need to eat as much as you do.” He replied while watching you. “Gods don’t really get hungry either.”
You didn’t know if you should be a little offended or not, but you were glad for the food so you didn’t say anything. Instead you picked up a fruit from the top and started to eat. It was even more delicious due to the fact that you hadn’t eaten in what felt like forever. You ate two more after that one, deciding to leave the rest for later.
“If you don’t really eat then… What do you do with the food they bring you?” You asked.
“I’ll eat it if I’m bored, but mostly I leave it for the animals.”
You recalled the animals that you had seen earlier and remembered that they didn’t seem scared of Shouto at all. Maybe if you stayed here long enough they’d get used to you, too. Speaking of staying here, you never really asked him how long you were allowed to stay. You didn’t really want to impose either, but you really didn’t have anywhere to go. Going back would cause more trouble than it’s worth, and you almost wished you would’ve been eaten just so you didn’t have to deal with your dreary village.
Walking over to where Shouto was, you looked up to the sky. There was no doubt the sun would start setting soon so it really was now or never. You sat down a little ways from him, trying to keep a respectful distance while you gathered your thoughts. He didn’t seem to mind the distance, already looking out into the forest.
“Shouto,” You started, getting his attention first. He turned his head to you, eyes flickering over your face trying to read your expression. “Can I- will you- ugh sorry it’s just… Would you mind if I stayed here… with you?”
His head tilted while his eyes flickered with a series of emotions. Why would you be asking to stay here with him? He already knew human lives were short, so why would you spend time here at a dusty old shrine deep in the mountain? The only ones who visited was because they had to. But you didn’t have to, so why stick around? He truly wondered why humans were so odd.
“Do you truly have nowhere else to go?” He asked, watching you closely. “If you stay here, in the domain of a god, you will cease to be human.”
“Wait, really?” You asked, leaning forward. “What will I turn into then?”
“Who knows, only time will tell.” He mused, “Do as you wish.”
Well, that didn’t make you feel much better, but at least you had a place to stay for as long as he could tolerate you. Shouto didn’t seem like someone mean or like someone who’d kill you in your sleep, so you took what you could get.
The sun started setting not too much later and you admired the stars in the sky as they got more and more visible. They looked even clearer now that you were higher in the mountains. From your side Shouto shifted in place, going to hold an arm out and before you could ask what he was doing he snapped his fingers. All the lanterns around the shrine instantly lit and you nearly jumped to your feet in excitement, scaring the poor god.
“That was so cool!! How’d you do that??” You almost yelled, suddenly much closer to Shouto than he thought. He wanted to shrink under your intense stare.
“Um, fox fire.” He said it like it was the simplest thing in the world. Of course you didn’t know what fox fire was!
When you looked at him like you had no clue what he was talking about he knew you wouldn’t be satisfied until he explained. Not one to speak too much himself, he just held out a single finger until a small flame danced over it. You watched with the utmost wonder and excitement. Before he knew it, you had scooted even closer hand reaching out to hold the one with the flame as you inspected it. He didn’t pull away, even though the feeling of contact made him a little uneasy.
“That’s so cool… “ You murmured, eyes alight with childlike curiosity. It took you a second but you finally realized the contact you were making with him and pulled your hands back sputtering all the while. “Oh um! I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to I just wanted to see-”
You cut yourself off, watching with rosy cheeks as Shouto was… smiling?? Even though it was small, it was still there. And it was causing your heart to nearly leap out of your chest. When you heard a small chuckle from him, it almost killed you just then and there. You saw him shake his head while he looked back out at the lanterns for a second. His gaze flickered back to you and his mismatched eyes locked with yours making your breath catch in your throat.
“You really are just odd.” He said.
The comment caused you to puff out your cheeks, the ends of your ears burning as embarrassment flooded your system. Was he trying to kill you? Were you so amusing that he needed to laugh at you? The nerve!!
Once your embarrassment died down and the night went on, the two of you talked here and there. Shouto learned a little more about you and you learned a little more about him. It was during one of the stories Shouto was telling you about a local mythical fish that lived in the river that you ended up succumbing to your sleepiness. Since the two of you were still sitting close to each other, he hadn’t noticed you nodding off until your head fell on his shoulder. He stopped mid sentence, going to look at you as you used his shoulder as a pillow. You were out cold he could tell and he couldn’t really blame you after the day you had told him about. So he gently shifted you off of him and put you so that you were laying on the ground before stripping his top most layer of his robes. The robe was placed over you and he went to go fetch a pillow that was lying around the inner shrine. He had a few here and there for himself so sparing one for your wouldn’t be too bad he thought.
As soon as you were settled in and he had managed to slip the small pillow under your head, he grabbed one for himself. After a little debate he resumed his spot next to you in the doorway, deciding to stay up a little longer so he could linger in his own thoughts. He didn’t know what you’d turn into if you stayed here. Human hearts were open to much corruption so… anything was possible. You could turn into a mindless beast, a monster, or… He shook the thought out of his head. Your fate would be tragic either way, so why not humor you for the short remainder of your life?
Eventually, when he was done thinking and rethinking things, he laid his pillow down and settled himself right next to you. For a few moments he observed you sleeping, watching the steady rise and fall of your chest. A fuzzy feeling bubbled up in his chest when he remembered your question from earlier.
“Do you get lonely?”
Shouto rolled over onto his other side, facing away from while he pondered the question.
Yes, he was lonely, so maybe this feeling in his chest was him starting to be less lonely. He knew it was fleeting, but maybe he could indulge in this feeling a little longer…
When you woke up that morning you almost screamed. The warm feeling of breath tickling your hair was something you were definitely NOT used to. And you also we definitely not expecting to wake up to see Shouto’s sleeping face so close to yours. You couldn’t help but admire the peaceful look across his face as he slept, and the warmth that radiated from him reminded you of the sun. It wasn’t long until you had fallen asleep again, thankful for the opportunity to sleep in, and with a god no less.
—–
Days, then weeks, then months passed by. You felt better than you ever had before being able to live at the mountain shrine with Shouto, and you had even managed to get yourself another set of robes that weren’t so… thin. Even then, he still insisted you wear his overcoat/robe now that fall was in full swing. The days were getting colder, and the nights even colder than that. But you were content with your new friend, and you could call him a friend now since the two of you had warmed up to each other quite nicely. Shouto had become more lively, and the two of you would talk away the days sometimes. It was a nice feeling, being this close to someone. You hoped it would never end.
A lingering fear still held your heart though, and you felt like you’d never be able to truly be close to Shouto. He was a god, and you had ashamedly fallen head over heels for him. You would never be able to tell him how you felt. And you still didn’t know what you’d turn into. Just as Shouto cautioned, you were already less human than you were when you first came here. Your appetite had seen a nose dive recently, and you both knew what that meant. You couldn’t fool him, because the second you started to eat less he noticed. I mean how could he not notice? But you assured him you felt fine no matter how much he fussed.
Today felt different. You felt, way different- like you could do anything. So when you woke up and saw that Shouto was already out and about, you practically sprung out of the inner shrine. When you saw his figure lingering in the distance you broke out in a sprint and practically tackled him. He was as solid as ever though, holding his ground like you were nothing. The hug from behind caught him a little off guard, but he regained his bearings rather quickly. You heard him chuckle before you released him and when he turned around he gave you a reaction that you weren’t expecting.
Shouto stopped dead in his tracks, the soft smile on his face fading quickly as he looked at you. His jaw was set forward a little bit and he almost looked… angry?? Shocked?? You gave him a slightly lost and frightened look and yelped when he practically lunged forward and grabbed your face.
“What did you do to your face? Did you do this?” Shouto growled, thumbs brushing over the several red marking on your cheeks. They didn’t come off when he tried to rub them off leaving him in a desperate hope.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!! W-What’s on my face??” You asked, slightly panicked.
All your emotions were thrown into what you could only describe as a hellish whirlwind. As soon as Shouto was done staring at your face with an almost predatory intensity, he embraced you with such emotion and force that you were afraid that he might crush you. He took in a deep breath before letting it out in a steady stream, trying to get his emotions to settle, but it was almost impossible for him. He couldn’t look at you right now, but there was no way in hell he was letting you go.
“Shouto? What’s going on??” You asked, trying to get him to release you from his almost death grip. “You’re starting to scare me…”
“You’re… turning.” He breathed. You stopped struggling, arms going limp as you stood in his arms. It was like, your worst fear come true, really. Were you finally gonna become a monster? Were you finally going to have to say goodbye to your only friend?
“Am I going to-” Your voice cracked a bit as tears pricked your eyes. “Am I going to be a monster Shouto?”
When he pulled away you were expecting him to look sad, even disgusted, as he gazed down at you. But he wasn’t. Okay now you were confused… He looked… Happy?? What was going on?? Was he playing some kind of cruel joke on you? What was this… You watched as he practically beamed at you, it was blinding really. But you were still confused all to hell, and it was written all over your face, so Shouto dug into his robes to pull out a hand mirror, to which he almost shoved into your face. When you looked at your face and saw the face markings almost identical to Shouto’s, you immediately started to cry as emotions overtook you.
“It’s okay, it’s okay…” He shushed you, murmuring soft affirmations that you were okay- that things were going to be okay.
“I’m going to be like… you!” You cried, happy tears overwhelming your ability to speak. So you let Shouto embrace you once more, his warmth comforting you that it wouldn’t ever be leaving you now. You practically clung to him, and it was your turn to refuse to let him go. However, Shouto was still stronger than you in your inebriated state and managed to pull away from you as soon as your sobs had died down. He wiped the tears still clinging to your now rosy cheeks.
There was that soft smile again, the one that you adored. Though this time there was a look in his eyes that really made it hit home for you. It was the look of adoration in his eyes paired with the newfound hope that burned brightly. You couldn’t take it anymore, so it was your turn to take his face into your hands. He didn’t protest as you tugged him towards you, and just as you were about to close the distance, you hesitated. Was this okay? Just because you were on the path to becoming a god yourself… did it really mean that…
“It’s okay.” It was a low murmur, much closer to a whisper, but firm enough to shock you out of your thoughts. His hands met your own as they held his face, taking yours into his own as he held them tightly, gently pulling you even closer to him. He took the initiative first and closed the distance between your faces, letting your lips meet his softly. Both of your eyes fluttered shut, enjoying the contact as your lips melded together. He kissed you sweetly, over and over, until you felt your head become foggy with affection. The sensation was intoxicating- your skin prickling with goosebumps and shivers racing up your spine. After smothering you with as many kisses as he could get away with at the moment, he pulled away, but not before pressing one more to your cheek.
A laugh bubbled up and out of your chest, your heart feeling more at ease than ever now. And you were sure his felt the same way. You both could exist here together without having to worry about anything anymore. Pride swelled inside of you, almost lifting you off your feet while you stared into each others’ eyes. There was no doubt in your mind that everything would be okay, and you could spend forever at his side, watching over the mountain together.
—–
Your ears and tails developed not too long after- give or take about a week after the markings appeared. It was then you were a fully fledged god. Even though you couldn’t do a lot of the same things that Shouto could do yet, he promised to teach you how to control your powers as soon as they manifested. It also took a while for the word to spread around, but as soon as people found out about the now two gods that resided on top of the mountain, you started receiving offerings yourself. It was exciting, even though you weren’t sure how to process all of them, but you got used to them after a few months after they started appearing.
The village grew as word came out that the mountain had gained another guardian deity to watch over them. Before you knew it, the village had turned in a busy and prosperous city, ripe with trade. Both you and Shouto ended up having a lot more offerings than you knew what to do with after that and people quickly started sending personalized offerings depending each of your tastes. And then the two of you had to relocate for a while as the shrine underwent some improvements. Neither you minded though, as long as the two of you were together.
So the two of you enjoyed yourselves as the gods enshrined at the top of the mountain. And forever there you’d stay, together.