Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Clutching his crossbow, Kageyama plodded through the fallen leaves, dried twigs, and dirt. Knuckles white and nerves pulled taut as his hands shook. Adrenaline was flowing, the sound of his own heartbeat played loudly in his head.
He takes light swift steps, careful to avoid stepping on twigs and sticks. He needed to stay quiet. A bead of sweat rolled down his temple as he scanned the area. It seemed as though the trees stretched on for miles.
It seemed impossible.
A heavy sigh escaped his lungs while sweat beaded at his forehead.
A break, a break was needed. Badly.

He didn’t understand why he was so nervous? He’s been in the forest his whole life, nothing has changed. Rolling his eyes as he scoffed at himself; he felt like a rabbit in a field of wolves while in the undiscovered part of the forest.
Vulnerable, that’s the word. He felt vulnerable.

He crouched low and scanned the area.
After Kageyama was sure nothing was near or watching him, he squatted down and swung his backpack from his back and onto the forest floor. He pulled out a canteen of water. The cool metal felt good against his hot hand and the cold water felt even better as it entered his dry mouth. He brushed his sweat-sticky hair off of his forehead.
While he drank, he stayed alert. He needed to.
Kageyama was desperate to catch something, his usual hunting area was a ghost town. The nymphs must’ve noticed that’s where he hunts and sets his traps.
Kageyama never was fond of his job, he hated it. He hated having to hunt these creatures who had emotions and thoughts so similar to humans, his own even. It made him sick. But that was the only way he could make money now. Hunting these nymphs was the only thing he was good at, he hated to admit he was good at it but it was true. He tried cooking, baking, welding, gardening but none worked out.

He wasn’t a Jack of all trades. Quite the opposite actually.

At one point, he tried hunting animals like birds, wolves, boars, and deer but he never caught one. He figured he never caught one because their movements are too hard to read, but with nymphs, they were predictable. They thought like humans.
All Kageyama had to do was think about what he would do if he was being chased by a man with a crossbow, the playing grounds seemed unfair.
He really hated his job.
But as he continues his job as a hunter, he can say he has never killed a nymph. He steadies his crossbow and shoots their Achilles. When they fall to the ground and begin to crawl away, he slips a dried berry, which causes extreme fatigue, into their mouth and slings them over his shoulder, and walks back to the kingdom. He can usually get 2000 gold coins for an average-looking nymph but on occasion, when he catches one with really good looks, he can get at least 5000 gold coins. He doesn’t know what happens to them when they arrive at the castle and he doesn’t want to find out. He already feels guilty enough as is.

Kageyama’s throat tightens as guilt builds in his stomach.
He can’t think about this now, he has a full day's work ahead of him.
Pushing the half-empty canteen back in his bag, he pushes himself up from the ground and begins to walk again.
He scans the area as he takes his steady steps. This time he walked way further out, he couldn’t see the familiar hunting grounds in the distance behind him anymore.
He was in new land. Untouched by man, that’s what made his stomach uneasy.

Kageyama spotted something in his peripheral view, a small wooden bowl cast aside. One must be near. He quieted his breath as he pulled his crossbow from his back now in his arms again.
Leaves rustled and fell from above him, one landed on his shoulder.
‘One must be above me.’
He slowly looked up, his crossbow was loaded, one more ounce of pressure would set it off.
Kageyama squinted as he craned his neck. His eyes focused and his pointer finger moved to rest on the trigger.

A bird, it was a goddamn bird that made his heart rate increase.

He rolled his eyes and lowered his crossbow. As he was about to look back down, something caught his eye.
A line of smoke above the treeline northwest of him.
He was right, there was one close.
He picked up his pace and began to sprint, completely forgetting the idea of him being quiet. He was desperate after all.
As he moved closer and closer, the trees grew significantly taller and a large number of individual treehouses came into view. The treehouses were built on log platforms and the treehouses themselves were shaped like dodecagons. The treehouse walls were made from wood and the roof was made of banana leaves and straw. There were platforms built around the huts to act as balconies, a fence bordered the platform. He found it odd that torches only lit the inside of one hut.
There were even chairs and tables to act as porches.
Narrow swinging bridges connected each hut to the next. The smoke came from a hut east of Kageyama. As more and more details came into view, he saw stairs leading up into the canopy.
He began to smile, it was truly amazing. But one thing was off, all but one hut was worn down, almost dingy. It looked as though no one entered or exited. Ever.
But he was desperate, desperate for money, so he sauntered on.

When he first began hunting these creatures, he was always told that nymphs lived by themselves, no packs, families, no friends, just themselves. He could make over 80,000 gold coins if there was a whole pack of them living here.
As he ran, his eyes were fixated on the houses in the trees, he wasn’t watching his footing.
His foot got caught under an uprooted root and he flew forward. He did a full summersault in the air. As his back hit the forest floor, so did his head.
His body rolled to a stop, his eyes began to close.
Kageyama wasn’t unconscious yet, he was very close to closing his eyes until he saw something approaching him, well, more like someone.

The “person” who approached him stayed quiet as they seemed to examine Kageyama’s face and body. Kageyama wanted to get up and grab his crossbow but his head was pounding and his body hurt too much. So he closed his eyes and hoped he would wake up again.

Chapter Text

That smell. It was familiar to Kageyama, it smelled like tea. An herbal tea. It smelt like the tea his mother used to make him while he was sick.
What was it? Ginger, lemon and honey? That seemed about right.
As Kageyama slowly began to regain his consciousness, the events that transpired came back to him in the form of a throbbing headache.
He peeled his eyes open, there was no sky, instead, there were banana leaves and dried straw with support beams holding them up. He no longer laid in a bed of dirt, instead, cotton and linen. It was oddly comfortable.
A tune glided through the air, it was someone humming, there was also a sound of a mortar and pestle at work. A thought of sitting up rung through his mind, he would’ve listened if he didn’t hear footsteps approaching him, he closed his eyes. He heard a pair of knees gently being placed on the floor. He started to panic. He had no idea where he was, who the stranger beside him was and what he was doing here, so he did what any human would do. Panic.
A single hand was placed on his forehead, “Godds, the fever isn’t going down.”...
A light, goddess-like voice was spoken. He’s never heard a voice so angelic. The women who performed at the town center now seemed banshee like after hearing this person's voice.

Kageyama felt the hand that was on his forehead move down to his lips, a thin finger parted his lips. A marble bowl was brought to lay between his lips, slowly the bowl tilted forward.

The hole in his stomach grew larger, he had no idea what this stranger was feeding him. For all Kageyama knew, it could be poison.
He had no idea where he was, who the stranger beside him was and what he was doing here, so he did what any human would do. Panic.
Kageyama shot up, ignoring the pain in his head and back, and swung his arm at the bowl. The hot liquid inside flew out and landed on the stranger's chest. The stranger hissed, placing a hand on the new burn.
Kageyama flew at the stranger, tackling him to the ground. Again, the stranger yelped.
Kageyama pinned the stranger down, his legs straddled the stranger's hips and his arm rested above his collar bones and under his chin, slowly strangling the boy under him.
As he peered down, his breath vanished.

Beautiful.
That’s all Kageyama thought, the stranger appeared to be a boy, around 18. He had soft, long, curly orange hair that framed his face. Small rounded horns peeked out of his ginger hair. He had freckles splattered everywhere, his shoulders, nose, chest, cheeks and forehead. His nose was button like, his eyes brown and wide and eyebrows knitted in worry. His pink lips parted to say something but closed soon after. Long pointed ears protruded from the sides of his head, the ears were decorated with piercings, earrings and chains. His nose also had a septum piercing and a nostril piercing. There was a gold chain connecting the two.
The boy was skinny, but his hips widened slightly, he wore a simple animal pelt skirt and gold bands on his thighs, just under his shoulders on each arm, around his wrists, ankles and neck. The pale skin on his torso had a large pink scar across it.
The boy had thin shoulders and arms and was probably a foot shorter than Kageyama.

Those traits were the traits of a nymph, a book example.
This boy was by far the prettiest nymph he ever had the grace to lay his eyes on.
He could probably sell for 50,000 cold coins alone. And with the rest of the nymphs in this ‘village’, he could make at least 150,000 coins. That could last him years.

The two stayed silent until Kageyama spoke up.

“Who the hell are you and where am I?” He pushed harder down onto the boy's throat.
“What the hell?!” the boy’s eyes were wide as can be. “You, stupidly, fall down a crevice, that is incredibly hard to miss, hurt your head and got yourself a fever. I bring you back to my home and hydrate, medicate and feed you and this is how you repay me?!” The boy looked flabbergasted.
“I didn’t ask for the full story, I’ll ask it again, Who are you and where am I?”
The boy rolled his eyes, “Did you not hear me? I said I brought you back to my home. And I am under no obligation to tell you my name.”.
Kageyama painfully pressed harder onto the boy's neck, he was starting to get red.
“I have you pinned, you’re cornered. Tell me your name or I’ll kill you.” Kageyama’s voice became low.
Usually, that’s the point when people would give up. But not this boy, he simply furrowed his brow more.
Kageyama was surprised by himself, he has never acted like this. He was usually calm and tactical but something was off.

“I have not been cornered by the likes of you, you lowly human” the boy scowled.
“Think again, human”
Kageyama felt something sharp tap his back a few times. A knife. More specifically, his knife. He failed to realize that the boy stole it from the sheath around his thigh.

Kageyama was the cornered one but he didn’t move.

“Now, I suggest you get off of me or I drive this knife into your back. And I won’t take care of you this time” Kageyama glared at the boy and moved off of him. The boy stood up and placed the knife on a table beside the bed.

“Beside your outburst, I was hoping we could be friends. So, let’s drop what just happened between us, yes?” Kageyama stayed quiet. He sounded condescending, extremely condescending. The boy cleared his throat, Kageyama spoke up. “Yes, let’s put that behind us.” Kageyama’s brow knitted further than it usually does.
The boy walked over to a shelf with hundreds of jars and picked one up. He unscrewed the lid and dug his finger in, what Kageyama thinks is an ointment, and rubbed it onto his reddened skin. That must’ve been where the hot liquid splashed on him.

“Because you listened so well, my name is Hinata Shoyo.” He smiled at Kageyama as he rubbed the ointment in.

Kageyama swallowed thickly, “And yours is?” “Kageyama, Kageyama Tobio.” Hinata smiled, “What a nice name.”.

Chapter Text

Kageyama nodded stiffly.
He looked around, his crossbow and backpack were nowhere in sight.

“There’s no need to be so scared, I don’t like hurting others.” Hinata poured more of the liquid into a bowl and walked over to a chair and table.
“Besides, you’re the first human I’ve seen in a while. I would like to speak with you.”
“Come sit.” Kageyama walked over to the small chair and sat down carefully. He put as much distance between the man and himself as possible. If he needed to attack or run, he would beat the other man in strength ten times over, but wits are where he starts to worry.

Hinata slid the bowl towards Kageyama, while leaning on his elbow, he looked at the bowl hesitantly. His reflection looking back at him in the marble bowl.
“You look skeptical, I can tell you what’s in the tea if you would like?”

‘Ah, so it's tea’ Kageyama sighed a sigh of relief.

“If you would be so kind as to.”

“Alright, well there’s zingiber, apis, citrea and white willow bark.”

Kageyama cocked his head and looked at Hinata quizzically, the shorter boy sighed. “Humans” the boy muttered under his breath.
“Ginger, honey and lemon.”, “Ah, I see.”. They sat in silence as Kageyama drank the tea, it was good, really good, it was relaxing.
He looked over at Hinata and saw him staring.
“What, do I have something on my face?”, Hinata laughed and shook his head. There it was, that airy laugh again.
“No, well, except that fat bruise... It’s just been a while since I’ve seen a human. It’s been 5 years to be exact. The people who I called my family were the last people I’ve talked to.” Kageyama swallowed thickly. “Why, what happened to them?”, Hinata shook his head again. “Some Nymph poachers took them, I was thirteen at the time. I hid but they got taken away. I’m not sure where though.”.

Kageyama choked and almost spit out his tea. He covered his accident up with a cough.

“I’m very sorry to hear that.” He paused, “How long have you been living out here?”
“All of my life.”

Kageyama stared at the boy. “If you mind me asking, how old are you?” The boy smiled. “How old do I look?” “18”. The boy laughed, “Multiply that by 1000.” Kageyama’s jaw dropped. “You’re 180,000?!”. The boy nodded and smiled, “ Somewhere around there, I might be over 200,000 years old, I lost count centuries ago.” Hinata chuckled to himself “But to you humans, I guess in your years, I’m 18 to 23 if I can estimate.”.
It was silent again, Kageyama looked up and looked out the window in front of him. It had gotten dark. “Ah, I should really get back home about now, thank you for your help.”Hinata clicked his tongue and shook his head, his earrings swung against his face.
“I wouldn’t if I were you.” “Why?” “The nearest village is 29 miles from here, that would take at least 9 hours to walk to. You are also very injured so I’ll add another 2”. Kageyama didn’t realize he walked that far. “If you would like, I could lend you a room to stay in for your recovery.” Kageyama thought for a second. He really didn’t want to walk back home in his condition. His fever was still high and his body was insanely sore.

Kageyama bit his lip in thought “No, I think I will be alright.”.
Hinata quirked an eyebrow.
“I would take my offer if I were you, a heavy thunderstorm is rolling in. It would be a shame if you were to be caught in it.”.
“What? But the skies are clear.” Kageyama was right, there was not a cloud to be found in the evening sky.

Hinata sighed, “Kageyama, you understand that I am older than the ground you walk on? Not physically but my spirit is. I have had centuries to study and observe meteorology and I am positive it is going to storm. So, I will offer one last time. Would you like to stay here while you recover?”
Kageyama stared at him, mouth agape.

Kageyama nodded, “I would appreciate it.”Hinata smiled “Of course, follow me.”.

Hinata stood up and walked over to the door, he unlatched the metal latch and pulled the door open. Kageyama followed close behind. Hinata walked out onto the platform that surrounded the hut and placed a hand on the rail. He began to limp forward, he trudged to the swinging bridge and crossed it, making sure to hold on to the rope railings for dear life.
The two approached a slightly smaller room, Hinata pulled the door open and walked inside.
This hut looked a bit different, it was slightly dusty and unused. There was still a bed with thick, soft blankets and pillows but there were less bookshelves and herbs. Instead, there were art supplies, paints, paper, brushes and an unfinished canvas positioned in front of a window.

Kageyama was about to ask Hinata a question about the room but stopped. The ginger was staring at the unfinished painting longingly. He looked sad almost.
Kageyama could only guess that this was one of his old family's rooms, he quietly groaned as the guilt from earlier resurfaced.

He stood silently watching the shorter boy in front of him.
The floor started to creak as Kageyama shifted his weight from one leg to another. That seemed to get Hinata’s attention.

Hinata spun around, clapped his hands together and held them in front of his chest, “Sorry about that, I seemed to have been lost in my mind. Let's get the room set up, shall we?”
He smiled. Kageyama only nodded.

Hinata walked over to the fireplace and positioned his hands near the dry logs, he closed his eyes and muttered a few words that sounded like greek or latin, and the wood caught fire.

Kageyama was amazed, he’s only heard of wizards in fairy tales.
As soon as the magic started, it stopped. Hinata stood up and walked over to the bed and flipped the covers up.
“Why are you staring at me, Kageyama?” Hinata asked while folding the covers. “I-well, uhm. I just never knew witchcraft existed outside of fairy tales.” He stuttered.
“You’re only being perfidious, right?” Hinata turned around to look at the boy. Shaking his head was Kageyama’s only answer. The ginger sighed, “For as much as you humans ‘love’ us. You know much to nothing.” Turning around, he walked over to a wardrobe and pulled out a new set of blankets and sheets.
“All nymphs can perform or use magic, it just takes time and practice. The reason you don’t see any younger nymphs doing it is because it takes decades to master.” Kageyama breathed in, about to speak but Hinata stopped him. “I can use it because I’m… special to put it in simpler terms. Before a nymph's spirit materializes into a body, their spirit is to linger on earth, that period usually lasts 1-8 years. In my case, it lasted 180,000-230,000 years. By the time my body materialized, I already had centuries to learn how to use magic, it only took me two years to master it.” Hinata said proudly. Kageyama was silent.
That information was new to him, he never knew. He never took the time to learn either.
It almost seemed like a lie, from the cheeky way Hinata explained it to how their spirits linger? It must be a lie, he hoped.

Chapter Text

While thinking to himself, Hinata finished making Kageyama’s bed.

“Well, here you go. It gets extremely cold at night so I put an extra blanket at the foot in case you get cold. If you need anything just ask. I’ll be back in a bit with dinner.” Kageyama then only realized how hungry he was.
Kageyama nodded, he watched as Hinata walked out.

Kageyama made his way to the soft bed and sat at the foot of it, sighing as his sore muscles finally caught a break.
Mindlessly, he bent down and unlaced his boots and slithered his blistered feet out of them. He pulled off his jacket and tunic underneath, leaving him with a tank top.

He sighed as his head hit the soft pillow. His tired hands pulled the covers over his aching body.
Kageyama remained quiet as he thought to himself.
‘I really shouldn’t be here. It’s making me uneasy. First thing in the morning, I leave by all means. If I must sneak out, so be it. I’ll never take this route again.
Then again, I have no idea where my crossbow and bag are. Gods, this whole situation is really stressing me out, I shouldn’t have agreed to stay here. I should’ve just ran after the tea I drank.’
Kageyama pressed a shaking hand against hot forehead. Him having a high fever wasn’t helping with the stress either. With more thought, he felt guilty again but for a different reason this time.
‘As uneasy as this is making me, should I really leave. This stranger is offering free food, water and shelter until I recover. That’s another thing, I am in no shape to be walking 29 miles. Hinata seems trustworthy enough, from what I can tell, he hasn’t done anything to hurt me...I think… But overall, I think he’s just excited to see another person he can talk to.
Kageyama sighed.
‘I guess I’ll stay, but I swear on the gods, if he does anything that’s questionable, I’m leaving, no matter what shape I’m in.

His blue eyes traced the room and locked onto the canvas, it was halfway painted. It was a meadow Kageyama passed on the way here. A stream on the left side, but the right side of the painting almost faded away like a cloud. It was beautiful, on the bottom left it was signed ‘Sugawara’ in cursive.
‘That must’ve been the person who lived here previously.’ Kageyama thought.

Reaching over the side of the bed, Kageyama grabbed a book that was sitting on the nightstand. He read the title of the book ‘A God's Morality’ It sounded political.

Sighing, Kageyama flipped the first page of the book open.

“What?”

Kageyama stared at the first sentence of the book for a few seconds only to realize it was in Latin. He groaned, loudly.
He was stuck in a room, with nothing to do. He didn’t have his bag which contained his notebook. He didn’t have a book in English, French or Russian. Kageyama’s mother was French and he learned Russian through his tutor.
And he sure as hell didn’t have someone to talk to.

As if on cue, Hinata waltzed in carrying a tray of food.
“Sorry that took awhile, I-oh! You were reading? Do you speak Latin?” Hinata bounced as he spoke. Kageyama shook his head, “No, I only speak French, Russian and English. I know a little bit of other languages but I’m only fluent in Russian and French.” He said as he plopped his head back into the bed of pillows.
“Tu parles français?” The ginger tilted his head. Almost immediately, Kageyama’s eyes went wide, other than his mother, he wasn’t able to speak to anyone in French. “Ouais, ma mère m'a appris.” The older boy only chuckled. “Impressionnant!” Hinata clapped his hands together and smiled.
Hinata walked over to the nightstand and placed the tray of food down. Kageyama’s sharp eyes ogled at the food, for he had not eaten in hours. It looked delicious.
A fillet of fish was topped with a lemon and herbs sat on a single plate while boiled potatoes, a hard boiled egg, and a pile of rice sat on another. Kageyama quickly wiped his face before he could drool.

“Parlez-vous d'autres langues?” Hinata walked away and sat on a chair. Kageyama nodded, “Я тоже знаю русский язык, хотя он может быть не очень хорошим.” Kageyama exclaimed slowly. He wasn’t sure if Hinata could or knew how to respond.
“Ах! Значит, вы тоже говорите по-русски. Впечатляет для англичанина.” A smile crept onto Kageyama’s face as he nodded. “Никогда бы не подумал, что такой парень, как ты, будет знать русский язык, но, полагаю, каждому свое.” Kageyama grinned widely, “Мой наставник научил меня несколько лет назад.” Hinata nodded.

“Che ne dici di italiano?”, Kageyama nodded, “Non molto, ho iniziato a studiare solo l'anno scorso.”.
“Српски?”Kageyama shook his head.
“Svenska?” “Endast grundläggande ord.” Hinata nodded.
“Ελληνικά?” “Οχι.”
“Tiếng Việt?” Kageyama shook his head again.
“¿Español?” “No.”

Hinata crossed his legs, “I think that’s enough. I am very impressed with you Kageyama. Not many humans speak multiple languages.” he said, returning to English.
“Thank you, I plan to learn more.” Hinata tilted his head, “What else do you plan on learning?”
Kageyama thought for a second.
“Maybe Chine-” “Hold on, 3,2 1-.” The second Hinata lowered his last finger, the inside and outside of the hut flashed with lightning.
Amazement overtook Kageyama, “Wow, ho-how did you do that?”.
Hinata simply winked at him and adjusted the gold band around his left thigh.
“You should eat, we’ll continue this conversation once you are done.” Standing up, Hinata walked over to Kageyama, grabbed the book from the nightstand and sat back down and began to read.

Kageyama ate like it was his first meal, he finished quickly and gulped down the glass of water.
“Wow, that was fast.” Hinata pushed the gold wire frame glasses up his nose bridge.
“Where did you get those glasses? You weren’t wearing them earlier.” It was true, Kageyama never saw Hinata get up from his seat once. “You must’ve been too busy eating to notice. I got up and grabbed them a while ago.” Hinata chuckled.
Kageyama felt like an idiot. Kageyama mentally punched himself.

“Ha, well um. What time is it?” He changed the subject.
Hinata looked out the open window, out into the torrential downpour and stared at the sky. “About… 11:58. I guess we should go to bed about now.” Hinata stood up and began walking to the door. He grabbed the handle and opened the door. He said a simple “Goodnight.” before walking out and closing the door, leaving no time for Kageyama to respond.

Kageyama tousled his hair and laid back down, now tired after eating.

“Maybe he isn’t so bad.” He whispered to himself before drifting off to sleep.

Chapter Text

As Kageyama awoke, his mouth was dry and his head was throbbing. He felt as though the room was spinning and his head spun with the room.
This was far worse than any fever he’s ever had.
Shakily, he reached to grab the cup of water on the nightstand beside. Surely the water must still be cold, as the room is freezing even though the bright morning sun is shining.
As he stuck his hand out to grab his water, the frigid air made the hair on his arms stand up. He contemplated getting up to go make a fire, but he didn’t see flint nor steel to make a fire with. All he could do is sit and wait until Hinata came back and checked on him for breakfast.

He was about to flip back over to face the wall again and maybe sleep a bit more, but Hinata quickly stopped him.

At this point, Kageyama thinks the shorter boy can read minds.

“Good morning my beautiful blueberry!” Kageyama choked on his spit. “Your what?” Hinata quirked his head, “My blueberry? I would think you would understand. I called you blueberry because your hair is blue and blueberries are usually associated with being grumpy but so are lemons, I would call you a lemon but you look nothing like one, like your eyes are blue and so is your hair, anyways, and you’re always gru-” Kageyama pinched his nose bridge. “Alright, I get it.”.

“Well, someone’s not a morning person.” Kageyama sighed.
“Ahh, it’s not that. I woke up with a bad headache and a dry throat so I’m not feeling too good.”
Hinata jumped, “Oh my! I’m so sorry, I forgot you were sick. Let me check your temperature.”

Hinata pressed his hand to Kageyama’s forehead and paused, “Gods, your fever hasn’t gone down. Uhm, Oh! Have you taken oral pills before?” Kageyama shook his head. “No, the pharmacist in my village always charges too much for a prescription so I just use the remedies my mother taught me.” “Which are?” Kageyama thought.

“Things like ginger, aloe, honey and eucalyptus. She used to be a medic in her early years.” Hinata nodded as he began to step out of the room. “Alright, I’ll be back in a second with some medication for your achy, breaky head.” Hinata made a pouty face before he left. “Shut up.”.

Hinata soon came back carrying a tray of food and a bottle of pills, “Alright, I quickly made breakfast and I brought you some medicine.” Kageyama slowly sat up and looked at the food. It was a simple breakfast. A fried egg on top of rice, cuts of meat and cheese and a warm tea.

“How are you not cold? All you’re wearing is a skirt.” “I don’t get cold anymore.” Hinata smirked.
“Well, lucky you.”.

“What time is it?” Hinata looked outside just as he did yesterday. “Around 8:30, I wanted you to sleep longer.” Kageyama nodded.

Kageyama ate quickly and swallowed the hot tea. The hot tea made his upperbody pulse with warmth. Hinata padded over and sat on the foot of the bed. He held his palm out and in his hand we’re two pills. “What is it?” Kageyama grabbed the two pills. “They’re turmeric pills, they help with nausea, headaches, pain relief and sore muscles.” Kageyama nodded and took the pills.

Hinata swung his feet, “So, are you feeling any better?”. "Hinata, I don't think pills work that fast.".
"No you idiot, I was reffering to how you felt last night. Anyways, are you feeling any better?"
Kageyama nodded quickly, which he soon regretted. “I don’t feel as warm as I did last night and my muscles are less sore.” Hinata looked at Kageyama and took a deep breath. “Well, I don’t expect your body to heal itself after one night. It’ll take time. Probably another two days before you feel like yourself again.” Kageyama groaned.
“Can’t you use some healing magic or something, I loathe being sick. I feel useless.” “No, I-“
“For someone who is older than the gods themselves, why can't you heal?” Kageyama exaggerated.
“No, as I was going to say. Healing is something very difficult, unlike regular magic, not all nymphs can do it.”
Hinata crossed his legs. “It’s seems like I could centuries ago but something happened to my magic and suddenly I can’t use it anymore.”
"I'm sure if I spent a few decades re-training myself, I could. But as of now, I cannot heal you." Hinata seemed to look sad.
“And trust me, if I could use it, I would. I hate watching you be sick while there are so many thing I could be teaching you.”
Kageyama smiled.
“What are you going to teach me first?”
Hinata looked at Kageyama’s discarded clothes on the floor. “We’ll, I would first teach you how to wash clothes, then proper hygiene, then maybe how to make soaps to clean yourself with because you humans smell foul.” Kageyama scowled as he watched Hinata fiddle with his gold bracelet.
He had always thought he was on the cleaner side of living compared to the villagers he knew, but now that he thought about it, Hinata was right. There were no specks of dirt on him, his skin was smooth and soft, no smell of sweat or grime and he smelt of chai and clove. Hinata was very hygienic.

“Fine, then what?” Hinata tapped a finger against his chin.
“I would also teach you to forage for medicinal plants and roots. I would teach you to humanely hunt animals. I would teach you dozens of languages. I would teach you science and the history of this world.” Hinata looked at the ceiling. Kageyama looked over only to see Hinata's profile.
“I would teach you all I know, but you have no time for that.” Hinata paused.
“Humans live short, sad lives. You only live to serve someone, you have no freedom and your mind is limited to certain ideas and concepts.” Hinata picked at his long nails.
“If someone was too smart or educated then suddenly they’re a witch, if someone is too uneducated or ‘stupid’ then they are a child of the devil.”

Hinata glared at the ground, Kageyama had no idea why this got him so worked up.
“You humans fight a war against yourselves which no one can win. And no one ever will win.” Hinata shook his head in disappointment. His earrings clanging against the chains and pendants.

“But, now you are with me, I could teach you things no school would dream of telling you. I could tell you about the stars and planets in our galaxy and how our planet was formed. I could teach you about the gods in and of this world.” Hinata looked Kageyama right in his eyes. “Kageyama, I could make you as intelligent as a god, but, you must trust me, and you must promise to not lie. 'Lying is a wall that prevents thou from learning the truth' as 'he' once said.”. Kageyama didn't know who 'he" was, he figured he would ask later.

Kageyama stared back at Hinata, overwhelmed with the information he had just received. He had just met this nymph and he is offering to teach him everything he knows.
And he was willing to learn, but it’s hard to trust someone you just met the day prior.
He learned one thing about Hinata right now, he knows no patience.

Kageyama stared back at Hinata in thought but Hinata could see Kageyama's hesitation.

“My apologies, I didn’t mean to overwhelm you. I just offered you a lifetime commitment, of course you would hesitate. I’ll give you time to think this over.” Hinata patted Kageyama on the shoulder and walked out of the room, leaving Kageyama confused and conflicted.
Only seconds later, he walked back in, “Are you well enough to walk?”. Kageyama nodded. Slower this time.

“Come with me then, I’ll teach you to make olive oil.” Kageyama looked back up at Hinata and shrugged, “Sure.”.

Kageyama slowly stood up, he placed a hand on the nightstand as a stabilizer to ensure he wouldn't fall. Hinata chuckled, “For such a strong and tall man, you look rather feeble right now.” Kageyama shot Hinata a glare and he threw his hands up in defense, “Just making an observation.”.

Chapter Text

Once Kageyama made his way to the door, Hinata led him to the room he was in yesterday.
Memories of what happened flashed in Kageyama's mind and he physically cringed.

While in the room, Hinata picked up a woven basket, a small hand rake, a wooden bowl, and a glass jar. He stuffed everything but the basket into a brown satchel.
Kageyama followed Hinata down the stairs and onto the solid ground, Kageyama noticed Hinata still wore no shoes, just the gold bangles around his ankle.

They walked for what seemed to be 45 minutes. Kageyama's headache subsided and his joints felt as if they had been oiled.

Every couple of minutes, they would walk by a plant and Hinata told Kageyama all about that plant. He explained whether the plant was medicinal, edible or poisonous. If it was medicinal, whether to apply it to an outer wound or if it was most effective taken orally, either in tea form or just chewing it.
It was useful information but Kageyama knew he would forget what the plant looks like in a few minutes.
Just as Kageyama’s feet began hurting, they made it to a beautiful field littered with green trees and short red flowers.
“Where are we?” Hinata raised his arms and smiled “We’re at an olive field!”.

Hinata dragged Kageyama over to one of the tall green trees, under the tree was a wooden step ladder. Hinata grabbed the ladder and climbed it, he then pulled the small rake out the bag and began combing through the branches and leaves. Olives began to fall onto the short grass below.

As Hinata worked, he explained step by step what he was doing and why. Kageyama listened diligently. Hinata, at some points, handed Kageyama the tools and allowed him to work, only for a few minutes though. As the ginger claimed ‘he was still too sick to be able to work!’
Once Hinata was satisfied with the amount of olives that fell, he climbed down and picked up the fallen olives and threw them in the basket. Kageyama stood and watched.

Hinata looked up at him and squinted his eyes, “You know you can help me with this part, right?” Kageyama quickly squatted down and began throwing olives into the basket.

“Right.”

While looking at the basket, Hinata spoke up.
“I think this is about enough.” Hinata stood up and dusted his hands off. “What do we do now?”
Hinata looked at Kageyama, “Well, now we have to wash them. There’s a stream just 200 yards from here. We’ll wash them there.” Kageyama nodded and stood up. Hinata put his tools back into the bag and lifted the basket on top of his head, Kageyama held his hands out, “It’s fine, I can carry the basket.” Hinata shook his head, his ear and nose piercings jingling. “A sick person should do as little physical activity as possible.” Kageyama clicked his tongue, “I don’t ‘not’ want to be doing anything.” “Here, then take my satchel. That way, you’ll feel useful.”.

Kageyama gratefully took the bag and followed Hinata.

“Hey, Kageyama.” “Hm?” Kageyama chewed his lip.
“What village are you from?” “I’m from Port Culthampton.” Hinata turned around, “Really? So you must know the king?” Kageyama nodded as Hinata turned back around and began walking again. “Not personally but I do, I actually work for him.” Hinata stopped abruptly “What do you do for him?”.

Kageyama has said too much. He chose his words carefully.

“I make deliveries for the king, nothing more.” Hinata’s eyes bore into him.

There was silence.

“Then do you know the name Elery Habath?”
Kageyama’s stomach dropped, sweat began to drip faster from his forehead.

The name was so familiar yet so foreign to Kageyama.

That name belonged to his father, he was a nymph hunter as well. Kageyama did not want to follow in his footsteps but fate did.

It was said that he suddenly made over 100,000 gold one delivery and ran away with the wealth, leaving his mother and Kageyama alone.
Kageyama was now glad his parents never married, for he would have the name Habath and Hinata would know.

“No, why? Who are they?” He lied.
“Nobody. Forget about it alright?” Kageyama nodded and swallowed thickly and trudged forward.

It took them six minutes to get to the stream and Hinata was completely silent the whole time. Kageyama felt as though his father had something to do with Hinata’s ‘abandonment’.
As out of character as it seemed, Hinata passed multiple plants and said nothing. Once again, Kageyama felt guilty. But not something he did in particular, it felt like bloodline guilt.

A new branch of guilt that did not belong to his ever growing tree.

Hinata placed the basket of olives down on the stream bank and walked into the water, seemingly ignoring the slippery and jagged rocks. “Can you please hand me the basket?” Kageyama nodded and picked up the basket and handed it to the other boy. “Thank you, Kageyama”.
Kageyama nodded again.

“Hinata, this is boring.”

Hinata shot straight up, “What do you mean boring? This is really fun!” Kageyama rolled his eyes. “No, it’s not.”.

Hinata walked out of the water and sat down in the grass. “Fine then, Mr. Fun. What would you like to do?” Kageyama shrugged. “You can’t tell me something is boring and not have a solution.” Hinata sighed.

“Fine, do some cool magic or something.” “Alright.”.

Hinata clapped his hands together, made indistinctive hand signs and spoke in Latin.

“Alright Kageyama, look at the willow tree hanging over the water.” He looked at it, it was a large, old tree.

With the sound of Hinata’s hands being clapped together, only a moment later, the tree was shrouded in flames.
Burnt branches fell off of the tree and sizzled as it fell into water, Kageyama could smell the distinct smell of fresh leaves being burnt, he felt the heat of the fire against his face.

The sky around them was a reddish-orange haze. Only then did Kageyama realize that not only the willow tree was on fire, but the whole forest.

Ember from the bark of trees flew through the air and landed meters away from Kageyama. The cracks and pops of fire echoed through the pasture.
Kageyama was physically hot from the warmth from the fire

He panicked.

He looked beside him only to see Hinata’s eyes staring back at him.
As he stared back into Hinata’s honey eyes, time seemed to slow. He felt light headed and dizzy but the dizziness went away as quickly as it came.
When Kageyama focused on Hinata, he was making a hand sign where his pinky and pointer finger were sticking out and touching each opposite hand.and his other fingers were curled inwards but his thumbs stuck up. Immediately, the sky was back to blue, the trees and grass were no longer burning. The smell of smoke was gone and Kageyama was no longer hot.

“I-I, w-what?” Kageyama took a step back. Everything was normal again, it was as if it never happened.

“Did you just set a fucking pasture on fire?!”
Hinata only smiled.

Chapter Text

“Did I?” Kageyama closed his mouth. “What?”. “Did I set the pasture on fire or did I make it seem like I set the pasture, Kageyama?” Kageyama was stumped. “I-I don’t know?” Hinata chuckled. “Did I change our reality,” Hinata opened His arms and gestured to their surroundings. “Or, did I change your reality?”.

“I don’t fucking know! All I know is that one minute everything around me was in flames then the next, it-it was as if nothing ever happened!” Kageyama was exasperated, he didn’t know what happened or even how to comprehend it.

“Alright, imagine this. If I really did alter all our realities, including the animals in this pasture. Wouldn’t you see dozens of birds flying away? Deer fleeing, rabbits springing to get to safety?”
Hinata was right, Kageyama saw no sign of danger in the visible animals. The finch sitting on the willow tree was fine. There was no real danger for others, only him.

“So you changed how I perceived my own surroundings? That can’t be right, I felt the heat of the fire!” Hinata shook his head, “That is where you’re wrong. I didn’t just change the way you perceived your surroundings, I changed how your senses perceived your surroundings. So, not only did your brain think the forest was on fire, your body did too.”.

Kageyama stood there, mouth agape.

“I thought magic was only shooting fire from your hands or something.” Hinata smiled.

“Just wait and see what else I can do. I have had 200,000 years to learn hundreds of thousands of years to learn thousands of spells. That’s just surface-level magic, just wait until you can see me actually trying. And maybe if you stick around long enough, you can learn to do that too.” Kageyama perked up. “You mean I can do that too?” Hinata nodded. “As long as you have the will to learn, anyone can learn. The only reason why you don’t see any humans performing magic is that it requires a ritual. Nothing fancy, just an exchange and pledge.” “How long will it take until I can do that?” Hinata raked his fingers through his hair and sighed. “I’m not sure, a year maybe? Usually, it would take a human much longer but I’m positive there is something different about you.” Kageyama tilted his head in question.
“What do you mean?” Hinata sighed and turned around. “I’m not sure yet, but I can feel it,” Kageyama smirked and looked down at Hinata.

Hinata was silent for a while as if he were in thought.
“We need to go into town tomorrow.” Kageyama stopped.

“Why?” Hinata began moving his finger around in the air as if he were writing, and moments later, the hand movements turned into glowing white writing. Kageyama tried to make out what it said but it was in Latin.

But judging by how the writing was written out, it seemed to be a list.

“Well, for the ritual, we’ll need an egg of a goose, ginger root, and turmeric, which I don’t have. I just used the last of my turmeric on your silly self.” A sigh of relief escaped Kageyama as he realized that the ritual was not a human sacrifice or some weird prayer. The ingredients seemed harmless, but would it hurt?
“Is this ritual painful to any degree?” Hinata shrugged. “How should I know? I’ve never had it performed on me.” Kageyama scowled, “You know what I mean, dumbass.” Hinata grinned.

“All I’ll need is a small bowl of your blood.” Kageyama’s eyes shot open. “How big is this ‘small bowl’?” Hinata made a hand gesture, “Uh, just about a cup?” Kageyama choked. “That’s so much! I’ll fucking pass out!” “No you won’t, compared to the amount of blood I’m about to give, you’ll be fine.” Kageyama quirked his brow. “How much are you giving?” Hinata turned on his heel and began walking again. “You’ll see, Mr. Blueberry.”

“Again, stop with that nickname, it's embarrassing… Oh, wait. Didn’t you say the nearest town was Port Culthampton?” Hinata nodded, “And that’s the town that is 30 miles north?” Again, Hinata nodded. “How do you expect us to get there and back in one day?” While still walking back home, Hinata explained. “You really think I don’t have horses?” Kageyama stayed silent. “Of course I have horses, three to be exact. One black Arabian, a Shire, and a Kentucky Mountain Saddle. Their names are Jynx, Morgue, and Alter. I purchased them with those names. I was so sad when I realized I couldn’t name them, they already got used to their names. But I had them all planned out, one was going to be named George, another Canz and the last was going to be Oliver. But I’m so proud of them, they’re so strong and sma-” Kageyama groaned as Hinata rambled. Once Hinata finished, Kageyama posed one more question. “Even on horseback, it would take us at least six hours,” Hinata smirked. “I feel like you sometimes forget that I’m not like youuu.” Hinata pointed his finger at Kageyama and twirled it around in circles as he spoke.

Kageyama made a ‘tch’ sound and retorted “Sure, dumbass.” Hinata smiled sweetly,
“On our way back, we need to stop at the stables, I need to mix their food.” Kageyama nodded and followed Hinata as he walked and rambled about nonsense.

…..

The stables weren’t far, only a 25-minute walk. As they walked up to the stables, Kageyama could hear the horses neighing as they approached. Hinata began to jog as they neared.
“Oohh, my big strong babies! I missed you guys. I know I just saw you yesterday, am I not allowed to miss you? Alright then.” Hinata smiled as he pets the Arabian, Jynx.
“Well, I came to say that tomorrow, Kageyama and I are go- who’s Kageyama? Oh, he’s that grump over there. He fell over sick in front of my home a few days ago. Anyways, we’re going into town to pick up some things. We’ll need you guys to take us.” There was a pause.
“No I don’t know how much he weighs, let me ask him.”
Hinata whipped his head around, “How much do you weigh?” Kageyama scowled, “None of your damn business.” Hinata turned back around.

“You heard the man. Jynx, can I ride you tomorrow? And Alter, can Kageyama ride you?” Silence
“No, I know you don’t know him yet but he’s a good guy. He’s not too mean…” Alter neighed, “thank you Alter! Now for your humble cooperation, you will be getting extra food!” Hinata smiled very wide.

“Oh and since we have to ride to Port Culthampton, you all will be in the pasture for the night.” The horse seemed to nod, which only confused Kageyama even further.

Once it seemed as though the horses and Hinata ended their conversation, Hinata opened the stalls and led the horses out and into a large fenced field.

“Alright, I’ll see you guys in the morning!” And with that, the two began walking out.

Chapter Text

By the time they made it back to Hinata’s “house” it was late evening and Kageyama swore he had a dozen blisters on each heel. All of this adventuring and gathering was definitely meant for people who are not sick or even recovering. He wonders how Hinata does this almost every day.

As he makes his way up the solid wooden stairs, fatigue hits him hard. His shoulders slump, his knees tremble, and his eyes become heavy. In all of his hunting years, he has never felt this tired. Even after having a whole nymph on his shoulder while walking back to the village, nothing beats this exhaustion he feels now.

Tired eyes look down at Hinata who is cleaning off his feet before he walks inside. “Hey, Hinata.” Brown eyes meet his blue eyes. He swears, Hinata’s eyes look more and more like honey and tea every time he looks at him in this light. Hm?
What was he thinking? He would never think of something like that, he prides himself on not being as corny as those romance novels in his old village’s library. It’s just the exhaustion he tells himself, nobody can think straight when they’re exhausted.
While bringing a hand to cover his mouth, he clears his throat “I’m really tired, I’m going to lay down for a bit.” Hinata smiled and nodded. Hinata quietly followed Kageyama to the room.
Kageyama trudged in and kicked off his boots. As he was about to ask Hinata why he was watching him so intently, Hinata spoke up.
“I’m going to make dinner, anything in particular you would like?” Kageyama shook his head. “Not really, I just want some soup.” Kageyama shivered in the cold room.
Hinata frowned, “You’re not getting sick again, are you?” Kageyama only yawned and shook his head. “Hold on, let me see.” Hinata shuffled towards Kageyama. He stood as tall as he could as he lifted a hand to check Kageyama’s temperature on his forehead. He muttered something under his breath and moved a hand down to his neck. Soft gentle hands slid along his neck, feeling for an overly warm spot. Kageyama tries not to go red as Hinata rubs at his neck. It’s not like he has never had his temperature taken from his neck, it’s just the fact that this is the most human contact he has had in the days he’s been here.

Kageyama was broken out of his thoughts when Hinata smiles up at him, “You feel fine to me, I’ll bring some more turmeric supplements when I come back for dinner. Do you want me to start a fire?” Kageyama exhales as he nods. As Hinata turns his back to light a fire, Kageyama strips out of his overgarments and gets into his warm bed.

Hinata finishes lighting the fire with an exasperated sigh, Kageyama looks over his shoulder, brows furrowed “Are you alright?” Hinata turns around, “Yeah! I’m fine. I just haven’t used that much pyro elemental energy in a while so I’m a bit easy to tire.” Hinata chuckles as he makes his way to the door. He’s right, he did use a lot of energy today.

“You said you wanted soup, right?” Kageyama nodded and allowed his head to hit the pillow below him.
Hinata smiled, “Gods, you act like a big baby when you’re tired,” as he walked out of the room he was muttering the plethora of ingredients he would be using.
Once there was no head of orange to be found, Kageyama closed his eyes and began to let sleep overtake him but his thoughts got the better of him.
Yes, he did feel infinitely times better than he did yesterday, it probably was that weird drink Hinata gave him. But he was still beat. It’s hard following an energetic nymph around all day.
Well, somewhat energetic nymph, after Hinata asked about Elery, he’s been a bit off. Not as energetic and jumpy as he usually is.

While deep in his thoughts, Kageyama heard Hinata’s feet making way to his door, he sat up. He must have been thinking for a while, but he did also notice how short it took Hinata to make food.

Hinata knocked quietly, it was odd. Hinata never knocked.

“Come in?” The doorknob twisted slowly and in walked Hinata. For what seemed to be the millionth time, he walked in carrying his in-bed tray.
On the tray, we’re two large bowls, two small ones, and a cup. In the first large bowl was a butternut squash soup and in the second was a salad. In the smaller bowls were toasted bread and a garlic spread.

Kageyama’s mouth watered, he didn’t realize how hungry he was until now. He curled in on himself as he tried to hide the obnoxious noises his hunger made.

“Hey, I brought your food. Do you like butternut squash? I know people are picky about foods like this.” Kageyama nodded, not focusing on what Hinata was saying, only on the food.

“Here.” Hinata sat at the foot of the bed and pulled out a book.

As Kageyama ate, there was something gnawing at the back of his mind, the ritual. All his life, the stereotypes surrounding rituals consisted of animals or people getting slaughtered, weird chanting, and or the manipulation of their elemental surroundings.

“So, what is this ritual like?” Hinata sighed and closed the book, he leaned back on his hands and looked at the ceiling as if in deep thought. “Well, it’s not long. You already know that we will need a goose egg, turmeric, and ginger root. But I’m not going to give you much insight on the ritual, it’s supposed to be something like a surprise.” Kageyama scoffed.
“That’s stupid, if I’m going to be giving my blood to you for this ritual, I deserve to know what is going to happen.” Hinata flicked his forehead and raised a finger to his pursed lips.
“Shh, we have a long journey ahead of us tomorrow. Hurry up eating and go to sleep.” Kageyama was about to argue when he was hit with a major wave of fatigue.

………….

“Alright, mount Alter as you would with a normal horse.”
Kageyama looked at the horse before him, it was massive. The biggest horse he’s ever seen. If he were to guess, the horse was about 22 hands tall. Massive.
“Oh, there is a step right there if you need it.” This was the first time Kageyama ever needed a step before. He has always been too tall standing in at an impressive 6’5. People have always said that his height doesn’t fit his personality.

Kageyama promptly mounted the horse with the help of the step and grabbed the reins. That’s when Hinata walked over carrying a small wooden bowl. Inside the bowl was a glowing orange paste. Kageyama watched diligently as Hinata scooped some into his palm and slowly, in one swipe, rubbed it up the horse’s nose, up to its eyes. As soon as he did so, Hinata walked over to him and asked him to bend down. When he did, he swiped the same paste onto Kageyama’s face. “Ugh, what is this?” Hinata did the same to his horse. “It’s a speed enhancer for the horses, but a stabilizer for you. When we begin to make our way to the village, you’ll thank me.”

Hinata smiled and checked his bag, making sure he had everything he needed. Once he finished, he mounted his horse and began to trot. Kageyama’s horse followed suit. Kageyama barely caught it when Hinata told him to get ready. Hinata then screamed something, Kageyama was unsure what he said. Right after, both horses sped forward. To Kageyama, it felt as though he was traveling at a normal speed, but the trees around him told him otherwise. The trees and bushes flew by them in milliseconds. Just as he was about to freak out, they were there. At Port Culthampton. “Are you ready?” Hinata was already off of his horse.
A wave of anxiety hit Kageyama, “Uhm, no. I think I’ll just stay here.” Hinata raised a brow at him, “Are you sure?” Kageyama nodded his head.

Kageyama feared he would run into someone he knew when he was younger or one of the guardsmen asking about how his hunting was going. It was a dangerous risk that wasn’t worth taking.