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It was a warm, sunny day at the end of summer. The air was just barely starting to crisp as fall approached, but the leaves were still green and lush. Yuki Maeda was making the most of it, running out from his mother's garden and all the way to woods so he could trounce around below the trees. He made his way deeper into the forest, and ran barefoot through the shafts of dappled midday-sunlight and canopy shadows. His mother would have told him to put shoes on if he hadn't escaped out the door before she could finish telling him to be careful, but he liked being able to feel the grass and moss beneath his feet. Even after he'd learned to tie his shoes, something Yuki had been embarrassed about mastering at a far later age than the other kids at school, he'd still preferred to leave them off on days like this, even if Aiko sighed at him for it sometimes.
“Oh-oops-” Yuki tottered along the side of a stream, having nearly slipped on a wet stone and fallen down. Carefully, he steadied himself, putting his arms out like he had been told to, and stepping more carefully down the slope once he felt steady again. It was shallow, but that didn't mean he wanted to fall in. Then, he'd be cold, and there'd be no choice but to return home and resign himself to a scolding for not being safe and getting his clothes all dirty. Yuki frowned, gripping his green, brown, and yellow turtleneck sweater with his small hands. His mother had made it, and he liked it very much, so he didn't want it to get messed up either. This time, he stepped more carefully, taking each stepping stone with a cautious tread, arms carefully outstretched.
Then, a quiet snap came from somewhere close. Startled, Yuki very nearly fell into the stream all over again, and had to make a leap for the opposite side. With a yelp, he made it without getting wet and toppled into a patch of ferns instead.
“Hello?” Yuki called out curiously as his small ginger head emerged from the green fronds. There was another rustling sound from above, and a leaf or two drifted down to rest atop his head. Removing it, Yuki looked upwards to the source. He found himself in the shadow of a large katsura tree. The air around it smelled faintly of caramel, and only a bit of sunlight filtered through the tree’s many round leaves. Above him, though, in the branches, something was blocking out the light, leaving a small empty patch where the sun ought to have hit Yuki’s face and shoulder. Was it an animal? If so, it was way bigger than any bird or squirrel he’d ever seen. He realized it might even be larger than a fox or dog, which made him freeze up for a second. “I'm not scared of you!” Yuki shivered, but stood up straight, and made himself look big. Mom had told him if he ever ran into a big creature, he should act big and brave first instead of turning around and running away, then go and get help without showing fear. When she'd told him what to do, he'd never thought about needing to; after all, he'd asked his teacher just to make sure, and she'd said there weren't any bears or wolves living here.
Did mom mean this? Big scary shadow creatures that jumped down from above? Was he still supposed to act big and loud, or should he just run away? Suddenly, he wished his mom was here, so she could tell him what to do. Scared, but also strangely transfixed, he decided in the end to stay where he was, too curious to run away without knowing, but entirely wrapped up in his own thoughts until he was interrupted by a voice from above.
“…I’m not scared of you either.” It was quiet enough that Yuki had to focus hard to make out the words.
“Well good!” Yuki said, crossing his arms. He wasn't supposed to talk to strangers by himself, so part of him was still wondering if he should still run away below the tough kid act. The curious side of him was stronger though, and when a pale face appeared from the branches, it won out entirely.
“I’m Yuki Maeda,” he offered politely as he sat down in the leaves with his legs crossed. Though he stared up into the boughs and patted the ground hopefully, the strange forest kid didn't come down. However, he did climb to a lower branch and sat down too, with his back against the trunk of the tree. Yuki took in the other kid’s appearance, watching as the small boy with hair a lot like his leaned back and let one of his legs dangle down while holding the other with one arm and resting his chin atop the knee. The boy stared right back with a mostly neutral expression, not looking nearly as interested as Yuki felt.
“Oh,” he said quietly, and his eyes widened a little. Blinking, Yuki waited politely for him to share his own name, but nothing but silence spread out between them.
“What's your name?” Yuki asked helpfully, hoping to continue talking. To his surprise, the boy frowned, and looked at him as if he'd just said something a bit rude.
“…You can't just go around asking that,” he muttered. “…Don't you know anything?”
“Don't you know anything?” Yuki huffed, crossing his arms. “You're ‘posed to! It's polite to intra… int… introduce yourself.” He tilted his head in a perplexed fashion. “And besides, I said my name.” The boy considered this for a moment, then nodded.
“…I guess so.” He said, looking to the side. “…But I'm not supposed to.”
“Why not?” Yuki asked softly, getting more and more intrigued by the second.
“It's unwise for faeries to throw their true names around all the time,” he said slowly. It sounded a lot like he was reciting something from a lecture, and the sigh and irritated frown afterwards reinforced that idea.
“Fairies?” Yuki stared up at him with wide eyes, then frowned and squinted suspiciously instead. “You're not a fairy, you're just a kid,” he pointed out.
“I could say the same to you,” the forest kid said, looking a bit amused. Annoyed, Yuki grumbled under his breath. It was starting to feel like he was being left out of a joke. "…But that's what we look like.”
“Aren't fairies supposed to have wings?”
“…I don't.” the fairy kid murmured, sounding a bit put-out. “Father says they'll grow if I need them, but…” he paused, and closed his mouth as though he'd spoken too much. Yuki didn't think he had spoken too much at all.
“…But?” He pressed.
“But I want to fly now,” Utsuro whispered after a long beat of silence. “Then I could go way further…”
“My mom says not to wander too far from home,” Yuki replied with a knowing nod. “But I think she worries wayyyyy too much.” Above him, the strange boy smiled, and chuckled a little.
“Father and Mother say stuff like that too…” Then, he frowned again, much to Yuki's disappointment. It was the first time he'd heard this kid laugh!
“Do you want to fly away?” He asked softly, as the realization struck him. He received a silent nod in response. “I'm sorry,” he said kindly.
“What are you sorry for?” the forest kid lifted an eyebrow.
“Dunno,” Yuki shrugged. “You just seemed sad, s’all.”
“Whatever…” The other boy hugged his arms and glanced away.
“Can I give you a nickname?” He asked hopefully.
“What?” The forest stranger looked slightly incredulous. “No.”
“Finnne.” Yuki sighed before continuing. “But then what am I supposed to call you?” The boy thought for a long while, but Yuki didn't mind waiting patiently for him to reply.
“I guess it's fine if you call me Utsuro,” he relented. Yuki smiled brightly at that.
“Nice to meet you, Utsuro!” He said, meeting the other kid’s eyes. Utsuro's expression looked more than a little surprised, but he nodded politely. “Umm… is it okay to stay and talk?”
“…Sure.” Utsuro responded slowly, but his eyes seemed a bit brighter now.
“Are you really sure you're a fairy?” Yuki looked him up and down skeptically. Just cause someone said something, didn't make it true! A while back, the playground kids had called him gullible for believing that Nanako from the next class over when she'd lied about missing art class because she was sick. Since then, he'd been trying to be more smart.
“…Pretty sure,” Utsuro said drily. “What were you expecting?”
“I dunno, if you don't have wings, maybe magic…stuff?” Truthfully, he wasn't sure what he did expect. When he thought about fairies, it was usually the tiny, pretty, and flowery ones with butterfly wings in some of the old Irish storybooks Yuki’s grandparents used to read him, or maybe, the fairies from Bottle Fairy that were small enough to fit on a desk. With a soft grunt, Utsuro clambered further down his branch, then swung over. Suddenly, he was hanging upside down from the tree by his legs. Yuki was so surprised that it took a moment to realize Utsuro was holding a hand out toward him expectantly. He followed the other kid’s gesture to the leaves at his feet and quickly picked one up and handed it over.
Utsuro nodded, closed his fist around it, and shut his eyes tight. A few moments of silence stretched out between them, and Yuki stared at the other kid's wavy hair dangling down toward the forest floor below. It was a bit messy, and Yuki wondered if Utsuro’s mom didn’t brush his hair like Yuki’s mom did. Then, Utsuro's eyes shot open, and Yuki gasped lightly to see a golden glow fading from his irises, and something shiny lying in his now-open palm. The small round leaf within was a reddish orange now. At first, Yuki imagined time had sped up for it, bringing autumn hues too fast, but a closer look revealed a shimmer as it caught the light. The leaf had changed to something metallic, with a delicate copper stem. Yuki oohed appreciatively, and held the leaf gently in both palms after it was offered to him.
“It's so pretty…” he twisted the stem between his fingers, and the shining copper surface shone in the sunlight as it spun.
“It's just a glamour,” Utsuro looked towards the ground. It was hard to say if it was out of embarrassment or discomfort, but his eyes soon caught on something else. “…Great.” Forgetting for a moment that he had no idea what a glamour was, Yuki followed his gaze to see several leaves around him swiftly turning orange. He moved over a bit as Utsuro lowered himself down to the ground at last.
“What's wrong?” Yuki thought they were very pretty, and imagined making a crown from them, just like the daisy chains his mom sometimes made. “Now you have more of these cool copper leaves.”
“They’re not actually copper,” Utsuro shook his head at Yuki sternly. “It's a glamour. They're still just leaves.”
“So?” Yuki tilted his head, hands filled with metallic foliage. If they weren't real, what was the problem?
“I only meant to do one,” Utsuro explained, looking worried. “If it spreads and someone notices, my parents are gonna kill me…”
“Why would it be bad if someone notices?” Yuki had started picking even more of the shimmering leaves up so he could hand them over, but that didn't stop him from asking more questions.
“Cause if a human sees, it'd be bad,” Utsuro waved a hand in a circular motion, like this was an obvious conclusion with no explanation needed whatsoever.
“But I'm a human,” Yuki pointed out after a few seconds of reflection.
“…You don't count,” Utsuro replied offhandedly. For some reason, Yuki didn't ask any more questions this time. He collected the last of the leaves close to him and was about to drop them in a pile at Utsuro's feet when he noticed something had changed. Both of them stared down as the leaves shifted back to green, starting from the ones Yuki had grabbed and spreading to the rest of the pile as they watched. “Huh.” Utsuro blinked at the leaves, then at him. “Thanks.”
“Huh?” Startled, Yuki pulled back a bit. “What for?”
“For helping.” He stood from ground, dusting dirt off his pants, and gave the area a look over to make sure none remained.
“I didn't do anything, did I?” Yuki asked, puzzled.
“Apparently you did.” Utsuro settled back down again, this time a little closer to where Yuki was sitting than before.
“How…?” Confused, Yuki looked between the leaves to Utsuro and back again.
“You're magic too, of course.” Utsuro whispered, like it wasn't something he was supposed to say out loud.
“I am?!?” Yuki practically shouted back.
“Shush.” Utsuro glared at him, and Yuki promptly shut up. “Yes. See?” He lifted Yuki's palm, and closed his eyes again. A little gold spark glowed in his hands, and he showed it to Yuki, who took it and held it gently in cupped hands. When the light transferred over to him, it brightened and shifted color a little. When Yuki started thinking about the copper leaves again, it began to turn orange, at which point, Utsuro quickly took it back and shook it out like he was extinguishing a small flame.
“Why am I magic?” With his hands pressed into the ground eagerly, Yuki leaned forward and spoke in a hushed tone.
“You ask a lot of questions.” Utsuro leaned backwards, so Yuki quickly leaned back too. To his surprise though, it looked like his new friend was debating between answering or not rather than being offended.
“Yuki!” A distant, familiar voice called out through the trees. Both boys startled and stood up. Before Yuki knew it, Utsuro was striding away.
“Wait!” He whispered, without knowing why he should be quiet. “It's just my mom.”
“I'll get in trouble,” Utsuro explained hesitantly. “And you should go home.”
“Oh…” Yuki looked down at the leaves sadly. “Can we play again sometime?”
“…I don't know.” Utsuro paused in his retreat to reply and meet his eyes.
“Will I see you again?” Yuki asked hopefully. It was sad to think about not talking again, especially when Utsuro was so interesting and he had so many more questions. Was his mom magic too? Could Yuki make Mom’s plants all better or grow wings or maybe turn the food he didn't like into chocolate?
“…M-Maybe.” Utsuro's eyes brightened a bit, like he actually wanted to say yes, then spoke more firmly, like he was making a promise. “I'll see you.” Yuki nodded mutely, and was about to say goodbye, when he heard a rustling sound coming from the path. His mother appeared across the stream, red hair pushed back by a kerchief and wearing her green gardening gloves. Yuki turned back to find Utsuro suddenly gone. For a moment, he stared blankly at the spot where he'd been, before his mother's voice broke him out of his thoughts.
“Yuki, there you are,” Aiko sighed, putting both hands on her hips, and waiting for him to cross the stream to meet her. "You know you're supposed to come home when it starts getting dark. And no shoes again? Really?”
“Sorry Momma,” Yuki lifted his hand up, and she took it in her larger palm with a gentle squeeze. He'd been so busy talking to Utsuro that he hadn't even noticed the lengthening shadows.
“It's alright, sweetheart.” She smiled down at him. When she noticed him yawning, and struggling to keep up with his shorter legs, she stopped, and held out her arms. Yuki stepped forward into her arms and let himself be picked up, where he nestled against her tiredly. “There you go,” Aiko said gently, patting his back. “Did you have fun playing?”
“Yeah!” Yuki said brightly. “…I saw a fairy today.” He was going to tell her all about Utsuro, when he remembered what the other boy had said about getting into trouble. “Am I magic?”
“Not last time I checked,” Aiko laughed lightly, and ruffled his hair. “Did you do some big magic tricks today?”
“Mhm…” Yuki mumbled sleepily. “You should have seen it, it was so pretty…”
“It was, huh?” Aiko’s eyes softened and she held him closer, so he could rest his sleepy head on her shoulder. “You know what I think?” He shook his head, too tired to reply. “I think it's bedtime. I bet tonight, if you wish real hard, you'll have all kinds of magical dreams.”
“That's sillyyy,” Yuki giggled. “You can't wish your dreams,”
“Oh?” Aiko chuckled, pulling a leaf from his hair. “I guess you'd know, huh, Mister Magic Fairy Whisperer?”
“That's right,” Yuki nodded proudly, lifting his head back off her shoulder. “Did you know Mister Magics fairy-whispers don't need to sleep?”
“Oh really?” Aiko lifted an eyebrow at him. “Okay then, Mister.” Yuki giggled in triumph. “But you better let me know when Yuki comes back. I might make some hot cocoa, but it's for little boys, not… mister magics.”
“Mommmm…!” Yuki protests, not realizing the two had to be mutually exclusive. “I'm not mister magic, I'm Yuki!”
“I don't know Mister Magic…” Aiko teased cheerily, but at the look of distraught oh his face she stopped and ruffled his hair gently. “Yuki, I'm just kidding. Don't worry.” With a sigh of relief, Yuki flopped back into his mom's arms and lowered his head to rest on her shoulder. “Goodness, you really have had a big day, haven't you honeybee? Let's get you to bed.”
“Okay,” Yuki mumbled sleepily. “Can I still have hot chocolate?” His mother laughed softly, and assured him that yes, of course he could. She carried him back down the path in a steady stride, and though a curious pair of eyes watched them thoughtfully for a while, neither of the Maedas noticed before the figure left them alone again. As the sun set, Aiko carried her son out of the forest and back home, safe in her arms.