Chapter Text
Noisy crickets sung; their singing caused Mika’s ears to ring as he stumbled through the forest. His head throbbed and his eyes were fuzzing up in pain, his throat clenching in dryness. The sun’s rays had long dipped beneath the Earth and darkness blinded Mika.
He hadn’t meant to get lost in the forest; actually, he had never meant to even step foot in it. Mika had gone out to buy some milk, because all the milk in the orphanage had somehow disappeared in the span of two days, and the children had been demanding more. To prevent their endless tears, Mika set out to buy them some cartons of milk. Whilst walking back home, admiring the beautiful sky that was approaching sunset, he encountered an injured cat with similar eyes to his own. Like a deer caught in headlights, he was mesmerised as he went over to help it. The cat managed to run off despite the injurie and Mika gave chase after it; dropping and forgetting all about the milk cartons.
The cat fled into one of the many forests surrounding his hometown, but Mika didn’t get deterred by that, continuing to search. The cat hid away and escaped, and it was only when all the sun rays dissipated that Mika realised he was lost in the forest.
If it had been daytime, he would have found his way back easily. He had grown up in the vicinity and used to play in the forestry areas quite a lot, however the night made navigating impossible due to Mika’s night blindness.
Mika wasn’t quite sure how long he had been traversing the terrain, trying to find a way out. He hadn’t counted the seconds after the sun had set; all he knew was that enough time had passed that he was thirsty and hungry whilst also feeling so fatigued that the fact he was still upright was surprising.
What was worse was perhaps the eyes that were stalking Mika. He could feel them, gazing at his vulnerable back. Perhaps it was just his imagination, but alas his anxieties got the best of him. It was terrifying because Mika didn’t have a slight clue of what could possibly be stalking him.
Though his vision was only darkness, Mika’s other senses had heightened. He could feel eyes watching him, but he did not hear any footsteps or a whoosh of wings. He didn’t smell anything human or animal-like. In fact, all he could smell was the foliage that surrounded him.
So perhaps it really was just all in his head.
Then there was a new sound amongst the winds brushing against the trees. The sound of rushing water. It was more likely for it to be a river, but it would be a good landmark for Mika to understand where he was, and Mika could finally quench his thirst too.
Mika walked towards it; making sure to walk slowly in order to not trip and hurt himself. The fact he hadn’t gotten hurt yet was a miracle, but he wasn’t going to complain. However, each step was like agony and Mika was too tired; he desperately needed to stop for a rest.
As he got closer to the water source, blue fireflies started to surround him. At first it was only just one, but as he got closer, he could see more fireflies. They lightened his path and so Mika could finally see. It was a slow progression, but it felt like a weight from his shoulders had been lifted.
Being able to see again was relieving.
Mika continued heading towards the water, and with the fireflies lightening the way, he could finally see the water source. A lake, which was strange since lakes were still. Immobile. As he got closer, Mika was finally able to identify what was creating the sound of moving water.
There was a strange person in the middle, if they could even be called a person at all. From the flowing clothes they wore, four arms danced to the tune of water as it followed their palms. They danced on the water, stepping over it without causing a single ripple.
Once Mika broke out of his trance of watching them dance, he gazed at their features. From afar he couldn’t tell what colour their eyes were, but he could see that their short hair was pink; the many fireflies helped in being able to see the colour. Their clothes were red which created a contrast when paired against the darkened blue sky and dark green surrounding them.
Mika shifted and in doing so, he accidentally stepped on a branch. It crunched underneath his weight, and he let out a yelp in surprise. His yelp caused the strange person to stop their dance. They looked over at where Mika was and without even an inch of hesitance, they walked over. As they walked on water, Mika took note of their elf-like ears that were surprisingly very long. It was a surprise that Mika hadn’t noticed them despite the distance.
Mismatched yellow and blue eyes widened at the sight of perfect purple eyes, as the stranger was suddenly right in front of Mika. There was a sort of haughty air surrounding them. The air of superiority made sense because this stranger in front of him…
This stranger…
They were definitely a god.
Now Mika wasn’t that much of a believer. He did believe that gods existed, but he didn’t believe in prayers. Never once had he prayed to any god because there was no way they could actually hear or answer his prayers.
Now after seeing as to how the god before him had walked on water and also had water flowing around them, like it was some sort of liquid that could easily be manipulated; Mika was inclined to believe that they used some sort of magic to hear and perhaps even answer other people’s prayers.
Well, it was not as though as gods were powerless mortals like humans anyway. Gods being able to use magic should not have come as a surprise; not when their statues were often depicted with having strangely limbed bodies, just like the god before him with his four arms and elven ears.
“For what purpose is a human like you doing here at this time of day? Do you not realise that it is time for you humans to sleep and for demons to crawl out?”
Too stunned to respond to the velvety voice, Mika’s eyes gazed over the god. They were so close, and Mika got a total view of their body. Of their beautiful face, which was scrunched up in a curious scowl. Of their soft robes which Mika could easily touch if he extended his arm out.
“How rude to ignore my question, human.”
The god’s statement broke Mika out of his stupefied trance. He stared meekly, giving an awkward smile as he tried to formulate a proper response. The first thing he thought of whilst he was ogling them, however, escaped his mouth.
“Yer beautiful…”
Mika blinked at his own words while the god before him sputtered. Under the lights of the fireflies, which seemed to be attracted to the god as they mostly hovered around them, Mika could see a pink blush rising onto the god’s face.
A god blushing because of him…
Well, that was certainly not something Mika expected to do in his lifetime.
The god quickly regained their bearings as they muttered under their breath, “Quite shameless, aren’t you? To say such words after ignoring my question…Human, answer me. Why are you out here?”
Mika gulped.
“I got lost after chasin’ a cat. I couldn’t really see well but I heard the water and thought this would be a good spot to rest at.”
“Is that so? It is quite dangerous to be all here by yourself.” The god stopped for a moment to think, “Fine, I shall use my magic to guide you back.”
From their palms, water flowed out. It bumped against Mika’s nose, yet it surprisingly didn’t wet him. Mika still gasped at the cold liquid touching his skin. The water moved back without the god making any hand signals, as though the water gained a life of its own. It flew past Mika and awaited him near one of the trees. A couple of fireflies flew near the water, helping to illuminate it.
Mika looked at the water in silent shock before he looked back at the god.
“Go on.”
“What’s yer name?”
“You do not know my name? Surprising, so it seems I have yet to reach all the people. My name is Itsuki Shu. Remember it well.”
“Itsuki Shu…” Mika rolled their name, tasting it on his tongue. The god in front of him, Shu, rolled their eyes.
“Yes, that is my name. Now go. You will not know what you will encounter on the journey back, so it is better if you get moving now.”
“Will I eva’ get to see you again?”
Shu’s eyes narrowed and they huffed, not gracing Mika with an answer as they turned back and walked away. They stepped onto the water again and once they got to the centre, they disappeared.
Mika let out a sad sigh, before looking at the water and fireflies that patiently waited for him. Dejected, he walked towards them and followed; and the water guided him through the forest. The fireflies continued to stay close to give off their beautiful light.
Truth to be told, Mika was a bit surprised that the fireflies followed. He thought they would eventually lose their interest and would leave to do whatever nocturnal insects did at night. They didn’t though; perhaps they were simply following after the divine-touched water. Or perhaps it was a mere coincidence.
(What Mika didn’t know was that the fireflies following after the water was not because of the divine-touched water or because of a mere coincidence. Shu had paid attention to his words, and they could tell that Mika was blind in the dark, so they used their magic to command the fireflies to constantly keep his path visible).