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Nakahara Chuuya was the sun, the one who shines the brightest, the untouchable one.
Some humans even worship him and revere him as their god, but Chuuya had no care for that, he only had his eyes set on one being. A white tiger, a beast that lives on the peak of the tallest mountain there is, with yellow eyes not alike to other white tigers who all have blue eyes.
While most tigers prefer to live in forests and grasslands, this tiger decided to live in a mountain on its own. Being the one on top of the food chain, this tiger easily became the most feared in the mountain, however, strangely enough, the tiger mostly stayed at the peak of the mountain, only going downwards to hunt.
Even then, after hunting, it would go back up the peak of the mountain, usually gazing at the sky.
Sometimes those sharp yellow eyes looked straight into Chuuya’s, making him wonder if the tiger can feel just how much he stares at him throughout the day. And even at the night, through the reflection of the moon, the sun can look down fondly on the tiger that stared back at him, unyielding and full of admiration. If Chuuya had a human body, he would have been blushing and flushed every time the beast looks at him with such reverence.
However, Chuuya did not have a human body, only remaining far away and untouchable to all. This fact, Atsushi hated it.
The beast always gazed up at the moon, hoping that one day it would be able to be at the side of the one he longed for the most. Atsushi knew it wouldn’t happen, won’t happen at all, but there was a small part of him hoping, that somehow, somewhere, someway, he might be able to meet the bright sun. As he dazedly stared at the moon, because the sun was too bright for the golden eyes of the white tiger, Atsushi mumbled to himself, half asleep, “Beautiful.”
He could have sworn that he had heard a “Thank you.” in return, but the beast was already in slumber.
When he came to be, Atsushi remembered the voice, he remembered searching throughout the entire mountain, he even went down it, just to find the voice, but with no such luck, nothing. The animals in the white tiger’s mountain vaguely wondered why the tiger’s eyes looked downcast, even a bit sad but said not a peep nor a word, not wanting to be part of the predator’s meal.
Atsushi was wondering if he had misheard, but he knew that there would be no way for that to happen, white tigers are sharp, and his ears wouldn’t lie to him. At least he hoped they wouldn’t.
Chuuya watched as the tiger exhausted itself in trying to find his voice, he felt quite bad, he didn’t notice that Atsushi was still somewhat awake and had heard his response. He vaguely considered revealing himself to the white tiger once more, however, Chuuya knew that it wouldn’t be a good idea, not only would he be breaking the laws set in the world, but he might unintentionally get Atsushi in trouble, Chuuya did not want that.
The more the sun sees his beloved search in a futile attempt to find him, he could not help but want to show himself, just so that his stupidly lovable beast would stop overworking itself into trying to search for him. But Chuuya holds himself back.
Until he couldn’t.
‘No more.’ Chuuya thought to himself, as he watches Atsushi gets surrounded by a small pride of lions, his body, tired once again from searching, sluggishly dodging the attacks of the lions trying to pick a fight with him. All of the lions knew that the tiger was in a vulnerable and weak state, and they knew how to take advantage of that, swiftly pouncing on him and biting his neck. At the pained roar that was heard from Atsushi, Chuuya simply could not take it anymore.
He moved, whispering to the tiger to close his eyes, all before the sun seemingly turned brighter and brighter, almost blindingly so. The lions quickly retreated, knowing that the sun was not an enemy they would want to make.
When Atsushi heard the voice he had been looking for, he quickly did as told, closing his eyes shut and making sure not to open them until the deep voice that thanked him nights before told him to. Chuuya kept quiet, waiting until the lions had run far, far away from Atsushi before he spoke once more. “You can open your eyes now.” And Atsushi followed, blinking his eyes open to look at the owner of the voice that he had been looking for.
His jaw almost fell to the floor as he stared at the being in front of him. Bright . That was the only word that came through Atsushi’s mind, not sure what to do and how to react. Chuuya saw his starstruck reaction and almost giggled, his beast is just too cute, to see the slight shock and awe in such feline features made him want to coo right there and then.
Chuuya turned to look at the sky, it was almost time for him to set, for the moon to rise, and it was also time for the tiger to return to his mountain. “Beast, you should go back.”
The other glanced at the sky, nodding to the being in front of him, he bowed deeply before turning to go back to the mountain. The sun watched as the tiger’s figure started to get smaller and smaller until the white and black fur vanished from his sight. He sighed, going back to the sky, he felt happy, seeing his beast, but seeing and speaking to the other wasn’t enough. Chuuya desired more .
Atsushi wasn’t sure what to make of the being he had witnessed, the word bright echoing in his mind. So, so, very bright.
He felt that being under that warmth - that brightness, it felt right. Like nothing was out of place, everything is where it needed to be, but alas, the being was too high, too unreachable, even for the powerful beast that thrived under the moonlight. Even then, Atsushi’s view of the moon was the same. Beautiful . He couldn’t help but want, need , yearn , for the eyes of the moonlight to be on him, and him only.
Though, Atsushi knew - much to his dismay, such a being, wouldn’t even consider him as part of their view, at least, not as much as Atsushi had them in his. Hearing his thoughts, Chuuya could only look down at the tiger, fond, silently snickering to himself on his perch up in the night sky, his beast was quite foolish at times.
Oh, how Atsushi was wrong. He was very wrong. Foolish indeed .
***
“Hello, beloved.”
“B-beloved!?”
Atsushi gulped, something feeling hot in his throat, not understanding the sun’s words, the voice that was too beautiful for his lowly ears to hear. Much less be called that being’s beloved.
Chuuya, once again, if he had a humanoid form, would have raised an eyebrow in a show of amusement, and his lips would be quirked up into a smirk. He knew full well what the effects he had on the tiger were, and he liked it very much. The feeling of being admired and worshipped only felt right when it was his beloved who did it.
“Yes. Do you not want to be my beloved?” Chuuya asked with much delight laced in his voice, he was enjoying this more than he should be, but it wasn't like anyone could do anything about it, now could they?
Atsushi almost scrambled to answer, “O-of course I do! It would be an honor!”
From then on, whenever the sun would show its presence, or when the moonlight and sunbeams hit the white tiger’s face, Atsushi would chuff. A sound that Chuuya would coo at every time he heard it.
***
The gods got angry at Chuuya, telling him things he already knew.
Yes, his actions had consequences, but he was fully prepared to pay for them. They told him, that by intervening every time the tiger was in danger he would be messing with the course of nature, where the strong overpowers the weak, and the tiger would have been prey a few times, if it weren’t for his meddling, that is. Whatever the price was, Chuuya knew that even if he wasn’t ready, he would still have to pay. Being the sun does not grant you immunity to the eyes of heaven.
However, what Chuuya did not expect, was that the consequences would be this .
Chuuya almost rotated the wrong way after realizing what the gods had done. Famine.
Famine reached the land of his beloved, resources became scarce and all of the other tigers relocated to a different place, a better place, however, his beloved stayed. He told the beast to follow his fellow tigers and leave the mountain he resides in but to no avail, the other would not listen. Even when the ground started to crack and dry, even when the air would be so unbearably cold, and when prey was nowhere to be found.
When asked why, his beloved, sickly and underweight from the lack of nutrition and proper food source only replied, “This mountain has the highest peak, the best place for me to see you, even from afar, I want to be closer to you in any way I can be.”
The sun could not help but start to get frustrated, as much as the sentiment was greatly appreciated it would mean nothing if the tiger was dead, so even then, Chuuya kept urging the other to go. Telling him that he would always come down from the skies to see him and to keep him company.
They both knew it was a lie, the gods wouldn’t let it happen, but they also wanted to hope . Chuuya estimated that he would be free to visit his beloved only once before the highest beings had enough of his meddling.
Atsushi was not going to leave. He wasn’t. Never . Only on the mountain he stands on would he be able to gaze upon the figure of the sun, the moon, the one who had the confidence to stand in front of a lowly beast and call him his beloved.
The tiger knew that no one else would do such a thing, the gods would be appalled if they knew the real reason why the sun kept coming down from the sky. So Atsushi decided, that he needed to be the one to do something first, he needed to make sure that the sun stays up in the sky.
He needed to die.
The tiger felt bad, lying to the sun, but it was for the best. Once he dies, the sun will come down, the gods will forbid him from doing so once again, and he will stay where he needs to stay, while Atsushi will be there in the afterlife, watching him forever. The only place where he can gaze at the beautiful being without making the sun suffer from the punishments of the gods. It was for the best. He tried to convince himself, knowing full well that he won’t be able to stay alive even if he wanted to.
And so, there Chuuya stood, his figure bright and fiery, the feline eyes of his beloved, cold and lifeless, staring back at him, the white fur he loved to stroke and touch, matted and unkempt. There were vultures flying in circles around the dead carcass where his beloved’s body lay, every single one of them burned into crisps, the sun too powerful for such lowly creatures to stand a chance. A single tear fell from Chuuya’s eye, instantly drying up and evaporating, on the too-bright, too-fiery, too-hot body of the sun.
“One day, I will see you again, my beloved.”