Chapter Text
Everything started with a walk outside of the Underworld. It was unusual, for him, to leave his realm and visit the world of the living; after all, he was the God of the Dead, and, amongst humans and the other Gods, he'd always been known as a dutiful, firm king, careful to mantain the natural order and balance amongs the souls that inhabit the whole world. That's why, that morning, the demonic creatures that had crossed his path had seemed to be surprised, while he was headed towards the exit from the Underworld.
Actually, he was kind of surprised too. Inside of him, he'd felt something that had pushed him to take that walk outside. Surely, there was a valid reason behind that sudden urge, and he, Fumikage, didn't really want to ignore whatever the Fate had planned for him that day.
In the world of the living, he found himself in a forest. A light breeze gently caressed his skin and the feathers on his head, and proceeded to delicately shake the grass blades, the crown of the trees and the colorful plants shining under the ride of the Sun God through the blue sky. Fumikage walked asbently alongside a stream, noticing his figure reflected on the clear water. A "human" body wearing a black, long tunic, and the head of a bird - of a raven, precisely, with a yellow beak hooked down at the end. This was the appearance that he most gladly took on and that made him the unmistakeable, dark Lord of the Underworld.
Fumikage kept on walking in the forest until he saw its end. He had the intention to go beyond the trees and towards the ample green meadow that he saw in the distance, but a feminine, kind and familiar voice stopped him.
"I found you!" the voice said with a note of cheerfulness.
The God stayed still for a moment; no, the voice he heard was not speaking to him. Now, he had the intention to go away from that place. Whatever creature or God that was there, it was none of his business what they were doing, and he did not even care. However, just as he was about to turn back, he heard a second voice. It was cristal clear, high pitched, but wonderfully melodic. Hypnotic. Fumikage stopped.
"Oh, Momo, it's not fair! You are too good at finding who is hiding!"
He remembered. The feminine voice he first heard was the voice of the Goddess of the Hunt and of Chastity, commonly known as Artemis, and by few called Momo.
Fumikage vaguely saw the Goddes, who had the appearance of a young woman with dark hair. But the voice that had enchanted the God of the Dead was not hers. He suddenly felt the strange desire to see the person she was talking to. As if attracted by an invisible force, he silenlty approached the outer trees of the forest.
Sitting there, on the shining, green grass, next to Momo and to some other nymphs, there was a figure that Fumikage recognized as a young man, cheerfully laughing. It was a sweet, soft laughter, perfectly balanced with his lovely appearance. His golden, smoothened hair was glowing to the light of the Sun - along with his white tunic, which emphasized his pureness. Everything seemed to be harmonic in him: the shape of his smiling face, of a unique beauty; his petite up-turned nose; his splendid indigo eyes, sparkling like the stars in the night sky.
Fumikage had never seen much of the world of the living - however, in that moment, he could swear to everything he had that that young man was the most beautiful person of the whole world, and of all times.
"Yuuga!"
The voice of another woman broke the spell Fumikage was under. He saw the young man turning towards the figure of a woman with long, golden hair, which Fumikage immediately recognized as Demeter, the Goddess of Agriculture and Harvest.
"Mother!"
The blonde man stood up and approached the Goddess to give her a tender hug. Demeter held him in her embrace, showing a kind smile.
Fumikage figured out that the young man wasn't actually a human being, but a God himself - the son that Demeter never showed to the other gods in the Olympus and that she kept hidden in that idyllic place. The Lord of the Underworld was surprised that he'd found it so easily, but he knew it was no casuality. He understood that that sudden urge to leave the Underworld, that day, was something written and wanted by the Fate itself, and that same Fate had shown him the way.
Demeter and her son started to walk away, along with the Goddes of the Hunt and the nypmhs. Fumikage heard them talking about something, but his attention was diverted towards the young god only. Fascinated by his marvelous figure, he did not turn his gaze away from him until he disappeared from his view.
For the first time ever, the God of the Dead, Fumikage, felt the deep desire to see someone again.
III
Yuuga really appreciated the company of the nymphs and of Momo as well, when she was there. They would make his days bright, happy and playful, and the young god knew that, without them, his existence would easily become much more boring. However, sometimes, Yuuga felt the need to stay alone in his own world and to listen to the peaceful melodies of nature. That was the reason why he particularly loved to play hide and seek. Into the woods that surrounded his mother's garden, he'd found a small, quiet clearing, which he'd hidden from the sight of others with flowers and vines, and that nobody - not even Momo - had discovered, yet. When it was time to hide, Yuuga would often go there to enjoy the solitude, and, after a while, he'd leave and let himself be caught in another hiding place, in order to avoid suspicions.
That morning it would have been much easier to reach his secret hideout, as Momo was not there to play. And so, when one of the nymphs started her countdown, he ran off towards the forest, changing his path a few times to make sure that the other nymphs would not follow him. When he was confident enough that none of them was nearby, he moved towards his clearing and after momentanly discarging the flowers and plants he'd generated to hide its opening, he entered.
Yuuga drew a breath of relief and looked up to the sky. He closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth of the Sun. He smiled, satisfied.
"Haah... I am here, at last" he said. He moved towards the center of the small clearing, where he sat down with his legs crossed. Where his feet had touched the ground, small, purple and white violets had started sprouting and blooming.
Many other flowers spontaneously started growing around him. Yuuga looked at them with tenderness, before gently gathering them and binding them together to make a crown.
He started humming. He felt calm, even if he knew that, for a few days, someone had been secretly observing him behind the trees of the forest.
After a while, Yuuga completed his flower crown. He stopped his humming and looked right before himself, towards the trees and bushes surrounding the clearing.
"Could you please come out now? Nobody will see you, here" the young god said with a kind smile.
At first, everything stayed still. However, after some seconds, Yuuga heard a rustling. The figure that was well hidden and blended in the shadows of the trees eventually appeared before his eyes. Yuuga recognized the body, similar to his own, and the black head of a raven, with a pointed, yellow beak and a sharp gaze. He mantained a fierce posture; however, Yuuga easily noticed the embarassment in his crimson eyes.
"Hello!" he said, tilting his head. "What is the God of the Dead doing in such a place full of life?"
Yuuga saw the god in front of him sigh and, surprisingly, bow his head. He had never met Fumikage, but he'd heard many stories about him from his mother and Momo. He was depicted as a harsh, cold god who had no interest in the life on Earth and who only cared about his Underworld. Neverthless, at that moment, Yuuga had the impression that the God of the Dead was actually uneasy.
"I apologize" Fumikage mumbled, looking away from the young God of Flowers and Vegetation. "It was not my intention to bother you."
"Oh, not at all!" Yuuga exclaimed with a strange accent. "I was sincerely curious about the reason why you are here. You know, my mother, the Goddess Demeter, does not accept the presence of any other than the nymphs and the Goddess Momo, here. She does that to protect my boundless beauty!"
As he said so, the young god pointed his nose upwards, closing his eyes, and he put his hand on his head. Small, colorful forget-me-not flowers started blooming where his fingers touched his golden strands of hair.
The God of the Dead didn't answer. Yuuga opened his eyes to see if, maybe, he'd left, but Fumikage was still there, frozen on his spot, and watching him.
"Are you... not scared of me?" asked the Lord of the Underworld, clearly confused and completely ashamed by his dubious actions.
"Why should I? Well, I must admit I felt a bit distressed, as you have been secretly observing me for the last three days, but I immediately noticed your presence, unlike the nymphs. I cannot say that your behaviour has been a nice behaviour."
"I deeply apologize. I will not come back he-"
"However" Yuuga interrupted him - and nobody had ever, absolutely, dared interrupt the Lord of the Underworld without any risk of harsh consequences. "Curiously, I do not feel fear towards you. I understand that you did it to avoid the unleashing wrath of my mother, as it is very clear that you're here without her consent."
Yuuga paused and stood up, still holding the flower crown in his hands. Fumikage noticed that the god before him was a bit taller than him, which slightly made him uncomfortable. For some time, they looked at each other in silence.
"You know, you are the very first person that I speak to, coming from the outside world. Maybe, it is not the best of the meetings, but I admit to be extremely curious about you and your... peculiar appearance" the young god said. "Therefore, I accept your apologies! I totally understand that you want to admire my extreme gracefulness, but do not do it behind those shady trees!" he finished his speach, striking a pose.
"Yuuga!"
The distant, yet powerful voice of Demeter caused both the young god and Fumikage to startle. Yuuga turned towards the direction of the voice and then, again, towards the God of the Dead.
"Oh, dear! It seems like I've been here for too long." he said, with his smile still on his face. "I really must go now, before my mother discovers my secret hiding place."
Fumikage stayed silent. He was not sure how he should take his leave - first, he would have liked to apologize again, and to try to explain why he was there, but he had no time to open his mouth and to say something rational, as Yuuga spoke again.
"Wait!" he said, shily moving a hand towards him. "I would be pleased to meet you again. I will come back here, tomorrow, this is my secret clearing. Will you be here?"
Fumikage was taken aback by that request - and, in general, by the goodness that characterized Yuuga. He was not sure what answer would be the most appropriate. Surely, somehow he'd ended up talking to him - which he actually never expected he would. However, if he came back, he would keep violating the rules of Goddess Demeter. Additionally, he was not sure if the pureness of Yuuga could be corrupted by the darkness that characterized the Lord of the Underworld, even if he was attracted to him like moths are attracted to the light.
As if he could read into his mind, Yuuga answered to his inner hesitation, in his own way.
"You won't bother me, not at all! I would really like to learn about the rest of the world, different from mine. And I would be pleased to begin with it by getting to know you first! If you'll be here tomorrow, I will be very happy, as well as beautiful as always!"
Fumikage looked at him before answering, "I will", a moment later. He tried to keep his voice calm and firm, however the glowing smile that Yuuga showed him right after his answer almost made him melt on the spot. The young god, then, approached him, astonishing Fumikage. He stopped at a short distance from the Lord of the Underwolrd and, then, he gently laied the flower crown he had made some minutes before on his head. As he did so, the crown got enriched of many new, wonderful forget-me-not flowers.
Yuuga looked straight into his eyes. Fumikage realized that his indigo irises where much prettier than he'd thought, as seen up close.
The young god removed his hands off the crown on Fumikage's head and moved away from him. He said goodbye with his hand and winked at him.
"See you tomorrow!" he said and, after opening the secret passageway, he left and disappeared in the woods.
Fumikage stayed there, as if petrified, surrounded by the fragrance of the flowers laying on his head - the irresistible scent of Yuuga. The melodies of the nature had suddenly disappeared. The only thing that he could hear, now, was the sound of his own heartbeat.