Archive of Our Own

“Tell me, my little fairies, how many children do we have to visit tonight?” chirped Keigo, flitting here and there in his palace.

“One million two hundred and eighty-six thousand!” shrieked Himiko, one of her tooth fairies.

Keigo frowned and spun rapidly in the air. Magne, another fairie following behind, bumped into his shoulder.

“I’m sorry, my King!” she said, breathless.

Keigo took her in his hands and beamed. “You know there’s no need for such formality, dear Magne! Our friendship goes back to the early Golden Age, to the centuries before we defeated the Lord of Nightmares.”

“Still,” Magne sighed deeply, placing her hands on her feathery knees. Her tiny wings fluttered incessantly, like a heart. “Himiko might have exaggerated a little—”

“Only a tiny little bit!”

Keigo looked at the two tooth fairies and nodded. “I see.” His eyes shifted to Magne, who was trembling. “Did you rush to correct this information?”

“No, no!” Magne shook her head, her voice high-pitched as she spoke. “There’s a message for you from Atsuhiro Sako!”

Keigo frowned. “Santa Claus? But why? Christmas is still a long way off—”

“Jack Frost is missing.”

Keigo’s wings froze. He lost his balance in the air for a moment, but regained control. Barely.

“Touya is missing…?” Himiko whispered as she perched on Keigo’s shoulder. Tiny hands clutched onto his golden locks.

“What do you mean, missing?” His heart skipped a beat. “Magne.” His stomach clenched. “What do you mean?”

“Missing. Lost,” she swallowed. “Himself, his memories, his joy…” Her gray eyes, beneath her long, shimmering eyelashes, resembled precious stones. “Tenko, who has existed since the beginning of the universe, believes only you can find him.”

“Why doesn’t the Easter Bunny, who has power over the past, present, and future, find Touya himself?” Himiko whined. “Tenko and Touya are friends! He can find him!”

“If Touya is looking for his memories, Tenko can’t do that,” he said because Keigo is the Tooth Fairy and Guardian of Memories, collecting children’s baby teeth and leaving behind money as their gifts. He guards all the teeth he collects in his palace, so that whenever a child needed them, he could return their memories to them.

Keigo was deeply devoted to his role as Guardian of Memories. He knew the profound importance of the childhood memories hidden within the teeth collected by his tiny fairies. As he had once told Touya, the fairies protected children and their memories, helping anyone who needed to remember what was important. Ever since Jack Frost was chosen as the new Guardian by the Man in the Moon, they had all become aware of his memory problems. Keigo offered him help because it was part of his job. He could help him! Or at least, that’s what he thought…

But even mentioning his memories was enough to send Touya into a breakdown, freezing everyone, even the elves in Atsuhiro’s workshop. The Yetis had fled in fear, knocking over the stalls where the year’s Christmas presents were kept. Touya’s inability to control himself had fueled the animosity between him and the Bunny. Tenko had told him how no one could see him because he was just a brat not worth believing in, and Touya had disappeared, leaving behind a bone-chilling cold. For a long time, no one heard from Jack Frost except—

“Sandy!”

With Keigo’s high-pitched scream, Himiko fell from his shoulder, and in his palm Magne knelt down and covered her ears.

“What happened to Sandy?” Himiko asked, perching on Keigo’s hand and hugging Magne. “Are you alright, Big Sis Magne?”

“I’m fine, sweetheart, don’t worry about me,” Magne said, smoothing the strands of hair that had escaped from Himiko’s messy buns. The two continued talking—presumably saying something to Keigo as well—but his mind was overflowing with memories that never ceased.

“I need to go to the Island of the Sleepy Sands.” Keigo looked at the fairies in his hands with wide eyes. “Would you like to come with me?”

“Of course!” said Magne, puffing up her wings.

“Totally!” Himiko started dancing around. “And I miss Sandy so much!”

She was right; they hadn’t had many opportunities to see the other Guardians in a long time. Besides, the two of them—Sandy and Himiko—could be considered the closest of friends.

Keigo held a brief meeting with the other tooth fairies in case he couldn’t be back by sunset. He assigned tasks and gave instructions—after confirming how many children they would actually visit tonight—then he set off into the sky with his two fairies.

As the Sun and Moon danced their age-old courting in the sky, hidden behind the clouds where the stars lay, Keigo’s mind was overflowing with thousands of thoughts. He was losing himself in the possibilities, in the ‘what ifs?’ He had to pull himself together; if he became distracted over the ocean, he would fall into the water, and this journey would be disastrous. Flying with wet wings would be awful!

But at least the journey wouldn’t take too long for someone as fast as him, more or less a few hours. Thanks to the Moon!

When they arrived at the Island of the Sleepy Sands, beings made of Dreamsand floated around them. Sandy must have been asleep as usual if dreams greeted them.

“Hello?” Keigo called out, flying back and forth across the island, trying to find where his friend was sleeping this time. But it was in vain.

“Sandy!” Himiko shouted at the top of her lungs. Keigo flinched and bumped into a tree. He hadn’t expected such a loud voice. “Your best friend is coming to visit and you’re still dozing off?!”

“Himiko—”

“Jin Bubaigawara!”

The Dreamsand that greeted them merged and formed shapes in the air.

“😳❓‼️🤷‍♂️❓👤👀🏠❓🤔⁉️”

“We’re here, Jin,” Magne said sweetly. She was just as close to Sandy as Himiko was.

“😱🫡🧞‍♂️🧚‍♂️🏃🏼‍♂️‍➡️”

A golden yellow airplane approached them above a cloud, Sandy beaming with a huge smile. When he jumped out of the plane, Himiko and Magne flew around him and hugged him tightly. They giggled, covered in Dreamsand.

“👋😊❤️”

“Hello to you too, Jin,” Keigo said with a smile.

Jin Bubaigawara. Sanderson Mansnoozie. Better known as Sandman or Sandy, the legendary bringer of the dreams. He is the first ever Guardian, the Guardian of Dreams. He’s Pitch’s true enemy and the only one that he is really afraid of. Except for Jack… Pitch and Jack Frost, their history was still a mystery.

He wasn’t a short or squat individual like in the stories. He was tall and somewhat well-built. But whenever he visited children in their dreams, Jin preferred to transform into his fairytale self. He wore a dress that looked like a night robe, made of his Dreamsand. His hair was short and golden, glittering like his sand.

“🕰️✨🧚‍♀️”

“I’m sorry, I know,” he sighed. Keigo’s heart felt increasingly heavy. “I know it’s been a long time, and I wish I had come to you for something better than—this.”

“🤔🔍👥💭🌑👑🔙❓”

Sandman was peaceful by nature and never spoke, not wanting to awaken anyone; instead, he communicated through expressions and images he created from his Dreamsand. But despite his generally peaceful and calm demeanor, Sandy was a fierce fighter; he could create whips from Dreamsand to attack his opponents, like when he had single-handedly subdued Pitch Black with his whips before the other Guardians arrived to the battle.

The fairies got there before him.

“Jack Frost—”

“Touya is missing!” Himiko tugged at his sandy hair. “Tenko said only Keigo can find him! Instead of sending his egg soldiers to every corner of the world, Bunny is still sulking about his friend. Just like a big baby! Can you believe it, Jin?!”

“🐣🍫🐰🤔👥❓🎉💔💬❓😲🤯👶‼️”

Keigo couldn’t help but snort. That’s just how Sandy was. He had a vivid imagination and a positive effect on his fellow Guardians. He holds a beloved and deep friendship with all of them, especially with Touya.

“🔷❄️☃️📍❓”

“We’re not exactly sure what’s going on,” Keigo began. Jin made a cloud of sand for him, and he sat on it. With each word that came out of his mouth, his wings drooped further. “You know, he’s the only Guardian who doesn’t have his memories of his old life. You remember what happened when I said I could help him…”

“🥶”

“Exactly.” The tooth fairies nodded.

“After Touya was chosen as a Guardian, what happened to you in our first battle with Pitch deeply affected him.” Keigo shuddered every time he remembered that day. No one knew Jack Frost could be that powerful. Perhaps the death of someone he considered a friend for the first time in three hundred years had triggered some kind of power awakening in him.

Jin nodded and smiled, so Keigo continued.

“He already had a soft spot for you from before, and then your friendship grew.” Could Keigo and Touya even be considered friends? After everything they’d been through? Keigo couldn’t help but believe there was more to it. “When he disappeared after his fight with Tenko, you were the only one who could find him—”

“🫵👤🔍”

“Yes, well, of course I managed to find him too…”

“🧑‍❤️‍🧑🧑‍❤️‍💋‍🧑❓”

“Jin!” Keigo shrieked, his bristling feathers causing Dreamsand to scatter from the cloud he sat on. Exposed to too much dust, Magne and Himiko suddenly fell onto the cloud and fell soundly asleep. All sorts of shapes kept forming above their heads.

When Sandy giggled quietly, Keigo smacked him on the head.

“🤕😓”

“What I mean,” he said, clasping his hands in front of him, “if anyone can really find Touya, it’s you, old friend.”

Jin rested his hand on his chin and pouted, symbols and numbers appearing above his head faster and faster as his mind raced, as he drifted deeper into thought. Keigo could only hold his breath and wait. When his friend finally looked at him, he almost fainted from the excitement.

“Do you have an idea?”

Sandy smiled broadly at him then shook his head.

“What—”

“❄️🔍🫵🧚🏻‍♀️”

“No, you don’t understand—”

“❄️☃️💭🧐🏞️🔍❓”

That was true. If Touya didn’t want Keigo’s help, if he chose to do everything on his own, stubbornly as he always was, the first place Touya would go would be the first place he opened his eyes to the Moon!

“Sandy, you’re a genius!”

Keigo hugged his friend tightly, giggling at the Dreamsand that settled on him. More of it would be needed to put him to sleep, but that wasn’t Jin’s intention. Everywhere Sandy touched as they hugged, he left dreams behind.

Sitting on a branch of the tallest tree on Sekoto Peak, Touya gazed at the setting sun. His admiration for the sun, as the Spirit of Winter, was still enough to amaze the other Guardians. Not to mention the fact that he had been chosen as a Guardian by the Man in the Moon…

The Moon that hasn’t given him his memories back, even after three hundred years.

After all, he was an immortal spirit who enjoyed creating mischief, wasn’t interested in being bound by rules or obligations; only wanted to use his staff to spread his winter magic for the sake of fun.

Over the centuries, Jack tried multiple times to break into Atauhiro’s workshop, but he couldn’t get past the Yetis; especially Kurogiri and Shuichi. He also caused a blizzard on Easter Sunday in 1968, which led to animosity between him and Tenko. After all, he had been at the top of the Naughty List for many years. He is the manifestation of winter, the spirit of mischief and chaos personified. Now? Now he is the Guardian of Fun.

He patted the tree with his staff, Twiner—g-shaped arch, resembling a shepherd’s crook—and watched with a wry smile as the snow accumulating on the branches dripped into the frozen lake beneath.

Looking down, Touya saw his reflection, and with a pang in his heart, he gazed at the Moon rising behind. He was a tall and slim teenage boy. Despite his youthful appearance, he was actually three hundred years old. His blue eyes strikingly combined with his snow-white hair and pale skin. Actually, Himiko had said that, but alas…

Himiko was also nagging him to change his clothes. He pouted and looked at his clothes. He was wearing a blue hooded sweater with frost collecting around the ring of the collar and the ends of his sleeves. His old trousers were quite worn, bound with lighter material starting from the knee down to the rather tattered and frayed bottom. He wasn’t wearing shoes, nor did he plan on. Frankly, he didn’t like the idea of ​​shoes at all.

He grumbled and looked up as the sun shone down on him. It struck him so hard and fast that his staff flew into the lake. He cursed as the branches crackled under his weight. Although the wind was always with him, he desperately tried to hold on to something. He gasped as his hands touched the soft feathers.

“Touya!”

“For Moon’s sake, birdie,” Touya said, burying his face in Keigo’s. It was clear why the wind hadn’t come to his aid. Keigo’s wings were his safe haven. “What happened to a normal hello?”

Keigo struck him hard, quite hard, with one of his wings.

“What the hell?!” He rubbed his head. But Keigo was looking at him with red eyes and trembling lips. “Birdie?”

Touya felt the air growing colder as the Tooth Fairy, whose cheerfulness rivaled that of children, remained silent. He had to control himself. His eyes lingered on his… friend as he kicked his staff, picked it up, and held it until his knuckles turned white.

Keigo was a half-human, half-hummingbird. Instead of clothes, Keigo’s entire body was covered in small, iridescent contour feathers. Around his wrists and ankles were gold lines that resembled gold bracelets and anklets, as well as gold feathers on either side of his head for earrings. He also had long, drapery feathers that started at his waist line and ended at his knees.

“What does it mean to disappear without saying a word to anyone?!” He couldn’t stop his voice from cracking.

“Oh, birdie…” When Touya took a step towards him, Keigo recoiled. It was then that Touya realized he wasn’t flying; he was standing on the frozen lake, just like him. His red wings had dropped. Touya had never seen him like this before. He didn’t want to see Keigo like this again. Never. “This isn’t like this—”

“How then? Tell me!” His wings flared menacingly. “I told you I could give you your memories when you needed them! I told you I would help you! And you—you chose to run away! Without telling anyone! Without telling—me!”

“Because I don’t know what I’ll remember!” The lake beneath his feet froze even more. A few crackling sounds made his heart race. “What if I’m not the person you expect? What if I’m as awful as Pitch?” Before the ice could reach Keigo, the Tooth Fairy flapped his wings. Touya didn’t know whether to sigh or cry. He ran his hand through his hair, tugging at a lock hard. “What if I’m really bad and that’s why the Man in the Moon took my memories from me? What if—”

“I don’t care.” Keigo spoke so softly that Touya suspected the wind was playing a cruel trick on him.

“You should.”

“Well, I don’t!”

“Keigo…”

“I’ve known you for a long time, Touya.” In the blink of an eye, Keigo was here, standing just a breath away. This only made Touya’s already troubled heart worse. “I also don’t want you to ever compare yourself to that nightmare. Where did you get that stupid idea?” His golden eyes darkened. “Did Tenko say something?!”

“What? No!”

“Good. Otherwise, I would have had to collect extra rabbit teeth this year.”

Touya couldn’t help but smile. As always, the brightness of his teeth caught Keigo’s attention.

“Like what you see?” He winked at him.

Keigo hit him again with his wing, causing Touya to throw his head back and laugh. He hadn’t felt this light in a long time.

“What I mean is,” Keigo began fiddling with the drawstrings of Touya’s sweater. He was too close. Yet Touya wanted him even closer. “All those thoughts you’re having, keeping you awake at night? They’re all nonsense. I know you. I understand you. I see you.” Touya could hear his heart pounding in his ears. “And whatever you see in your memories, you’ll always be my favorite ‘what if’. You are my favorite ‘what if’.”

Keigo handed him the small, gold-decorated cylindrical box with a blue diamond in the center. Touya held his breath and pressed the diamond, finding himself pulled into memories he hadn’t remembered for a very, very long time.

Touya saw himself, the same as he was right now, but so different. He had fiery red hair, and his eyes were the same bright blue. He wore a white v-neck undershirt with a brown vest, and brown trousers. He had a brown poncho over them all. In his hand, he carried a pair of ice skates.

As his memories flashed through him like a dream, he saw the times he entertained the children in the village. He was as mischievous then as he was now, loving to have fun and play pranks on his friends and younger siblings. A sister! He had a sister! And two brothers too!

One winter day, he had a memory where he took his sister, Fuyumi, to the frozen pond to ice skate—the very pond they were standing on right now! His memories flashed quickly, and he found himself and his sister in the middle of the lake, but the ice suddenly began to crack. To prevent Fuyumi from being afraid, Touya pretended they were playing a game to get off the ice, because Fuyumi loved games. Although he managed to get her out of danger, the ice began to crack and break even faster. Touya grabbed a nearby stick and used it to push his sister off the ice, only to fall into the pond moments later. After that all he heard were little Fuyumi’s cries, her sobs fading into the distance…

When he blinked and came back to this time, his cheeks were wet with tears. Keigo took Keigo under his wing, cupped his face, and wiped away Touya’s tears.

“I—I saved her,” he whispered, clutching the golden box tightly. “I had a sister, Kei. And two brothers… I—I saved Fuyumi.”

“See?” Keigo said, resting his forehead against Touya’s. “As always, I’m right again.”

Touya laughed, but his voice was muffled, mixed with a sob.

“I told you, Touya.” Keigo stroked his cheek and rubbed their noses together. “You are my favorite ‘what if’.”