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Despite the mountain of Nisayama being now clean of impurities, the hike upwards was hardly any easier.
Upon mentioning this to Hikaru, Yoshiki received very little pity and a laugh.
“Well, there might be none now, but that’s just ‘cos the hole is freshly closed,” he wipes his sweat drenched forehead with the back of his hand, showing off one of toothiest smiles.
“It ain’t like I’m exactly needed ‘ere anymore since the levels are back to normal…”
“But there also ain’t no place without them, I know,” Yoshiki finishes for him.
He’s supporting himself with hands on already wobbly knees, catching a breath. Yoshiki questions his physical vitality in relation to how much of a majirimono he is at this point. Shouldn’t it enhance his strength, maybe even speed? Those impurities sure were never exactly inhibiting themselves. Hikaru also has inhuman speed and still chooses to wander around in a fragile human body anyway, though.
“Now c’mon, it ain’t that far from this place,” Hikaru playfully pushes his shoulder before running upwards with renewed energy.
“Why, you little-”
Echo of Hikaru’s laughter accompanied by Yoshiki’s half-hearted grumbling could probably be heard for miles in the quiet forest.
…
They eventually reached what could only be described as a small empty space devoid of trees and covered in round rocks, surrounded by the ever-present forest.
Hikaru stops to stare ahead in silence, back straight while Yoshiki heaves a few steps behind him.
“..This it?” he questions when Hikaru says nothing for a moment more.
Hikaru turns to him, straight up beaming.
“Yeah! I’m home.” After a second of recollection, he adds: “Hmm, maybe not necessarily though? Y’know, how I don’t belong to this world and all. This is just where I first appeared.”
Before Yoshiki gets another chance at reassuring him that he indeed belongs and how it’s all fine, Hikaru grabs him by the hand to drag him forward to a cave surrounded by the trees.
“More specifically, this is where I’ve been all those centuries,” he points to the dark hollow. It slightly echoes. “Hikaru’s daddy came over a lot, I’ve known the guy. He was the only one to ever come back.”
‘This is fuckin’ miserable,’ considers Yoshiki with pity. Not that Hikaru was a living creature capable of feeling cold and all, but the idea that he spent years just waiting to serve his purpose, abandoned and only occasionally meeting screaming villagers who wandered in by sheer lack of luck, intelligence, and by pure accident…
At least Hikaru’s daddy saw him for what he was, damn.
The relentless screaming of cicadas snaps Yoshiki back to reality.
Hikaru is observing him in an uncharacteristically serious way.
“Mm, alright, ya stay here and I go look around a bit, yeah?” he says, softening his voice while placing a hand on Yoshiki’s shoulder reassuringly.
God damn, well, fuck it.
Before he gets to turn around and leave to do god knows what, Yoshiki grabs the extended arm and crushes Hikaru against his chest.
“Just.. stay safe and dun go runnin’ away from me again, got it?”
“Haha, how clingy Yoshiki’s become,” he barks a laugh. “I’ll be back, okay, okay,” Hikaru continues in a quieter tone before gently prying Yoshiki’s hands away and disappearing in the distance.
Yoshiki watches him become one with the trees before looking around for a dry spot on the cave floor. This proves to be problematic, but what else can he do?
…
Hikaru was gone for what was probably an hour or so (Yoshiki concluded there was no need to take a phone where he can’t charge it, but looking back at it, he regrets it to hell and back.)
When Hikaru returned, he was holding a stack of sticks and wearing a smudge of dirt (?) on his face and shirt.
“I fell,” he explains without greeting with that classic lighthearted smile he used to have all the time. Yoshiki supposes his emotional well being is the more important factor here.
“It’s real tough to balance this body holding all them sticks, but I found a river we can get to in the mornin’ so I ain’t so filthy. Ain’t that troublesome, Yoshiki-sama?” Hikaru unceremoniously drops the wood on the floor of the cave.
“Stop treatin’ me like some sort of noble, I grew up here,” Yoshiki grumbles.
“Not exactly here though, huh?” he chuckles before turning to face Yoshiki head on, “Ya got the lighter ya promised to pack?”
“Sure do,” Yoshiki brushes his pants off, standing up.
…
After successfully setting up a small bonfire (more for light than heat as it’s the height of July), Yoshiki took out a very wrinkled blanket out of his handbag to spread it on the floor for some resemblance of dignity.
The handbag was actually just a shopping bag he took as the first thing he saw, as many things. It had one of the cutesy TV characters Kaoru loved and probably chose. Now sitting propped up by a wall of the cave, Yoshiki wonders if his mom will miss it the next time she goes shopping.
“When this mixed, society will forget you. Even if they treat you normally when they see you, they won’t remember the moment you’re out of sight. Unless they’re gifted. Like what happened to even your own family.”
They didn’t exactly get much time, barging into the Tsujinaka household while there was still chaos outside. They’d think Yoshiki was a random burglar and would still be terrified of Hikaru after everything, so he didn’t take much besides the essentials. No time to pack a suitcase.
Yoshiki lets out a sigh that feels like he’s been holding for hours. Which was probably the case.
He plops down on his back where he was sitting next to Hikaru.
It’s getting darker, and Hikaru is once again wearing that thoughtful expression as he picks at an edge of the blanket, smoothing it, hugging his knee. He’s a little too far for Yoshiki to sense his body heat.
“Hikaru,” Yoshiki tries, and he doesn’t really know what he even wants.
“Yeah?” Hikaru responds still not looking at him, deep in thought.
Yoshiki makes a non-committal noise, turning to his side to get a better look.
Hikaru smiles at him again; “How’re ya likin’ it here? I know it ain’t much, but it’s not like I have a better idea for now.”
“It’s.. fine,” Yoshiki pushes out before letting out a dry laugh. “Nah, it ain’t exactly good fer humans, but I knew that already. And it’s not like I’m even a proper human anymore, so.”
“Hey, I’m sorry ‘bout that,” he reaches to touch the side of Yoshiki’s face, and Yoshiki has to fight the old impulse to brush him off or protest. There’s nobody here. Not a soul.. well, except for all the animals, but they wouldn’t judge them. To animals love is easier than breathing. They have found something so natural in the middle of a situation so strange. A boy and a corpse. A corpse inhabited by an ancient deity out of a plea for love. Was it love? That matters less now. Yoshiki loves this Hikaru. And this Hikaru loves Yoshiki.
Yoshiki closes his eyes and leans into it.
“Shut up, I chose t’ stay,” Yoshiki says despite the warm cotton in his chest. When Hikaru is about to pull his hand away, he covers it with his.
“I’m uh, sorry about what happened. What they did to you.” Yoshiki looks at him again, having another shot at bravery. He needs to say this. Hikaru needs to know.
“How they probably made ya feel.”
“Yoshi-”
“I ain’t here by an accident, I choose you whether it be in a stale cave or top of an icy mountain or whatever. If they chose to be like that, they can forget me all they want. I..”
Hikaru looks at him like he might cry, with the same hurt understanding as back in Ashidori.
“I want ya, alright? So dun go runnin’ away while I sleep,” he finishes with a light shove at Hikaru’s rib.
“Yoshikiiiiii. What will the impurities think of a big ol’ illegitimate cryin’ for some human crybaby,” Hikaru grabs at Yoshiki’s face, squishing it, while snorting snot in unceremoniously.
“Don’t call me some ‘human crybaby,’ I ain’t even human anymore!” Yoshiki fights back.
“But yer still a crybaby,” Hikaru smirks even as Yoshiki grabs at his ear to pull on it. “And the other part is about to be a real hassle..,” he adds, more to himself.
After a few more minutes and Yoshiki emerging victorious, they finally settle down next to each other.
The silence that falls over them isn’t downright uncomfortable, but Yoshiki is still somewhat uneasy.
“Hikaru? Ya sleepin’ yet?”
“I was about to,” he complains groggily.
“Can ya.. come closer?”
“Is that a wish?” Hikaru snickers before scooting inches closer so their shoulders brush.
Yoshiki does his best to awkwardly lift him up enough to get him pressed against his chest.
“Oh. Ohhh. Gotcha,” Hikaru nervously laughs again.
Yoshiki is warm. He was too warm seconds ago, and now it’s even more intense, but the anxiety settles as Hikaru slowly snakes his arms around him in return. The scent of Hikaru’s hair fills his nostrils and he can almost feel the ancient energy buzzing under Hikaru’s skin. Calming, uniquely his.
Yoshiki sleeps a dreamless night.
…
Yoshiki wakes up to two big red pupils staring into his soul.
“You scream like a girl,” Hikaru comments unblinking, mouth agape with happiness (?), as if to witness every other reaction Yoshiki might have.
“Well ain’tcha sayin’ the same crap he would say,” Yoshiki observes with mild amusement when he manages to even his breathing.
“My bad,” Hikaru scratches his neck.
“I got ya some mushrooms, we can try ‘em out?”
“Whoa, I mean.” Yoshiki eyes what Hikaru’s holding in his bare palms. They don’t look exactly appetizing, but if he remembers right from the mushroom guide back at home, they should be fine.
“While ya were out cold, I decided to be useful and check the surroundin’ area for impurities. There were like two at best, which is normal,” Hikaru yapps on, “post wipe-out anyway.”
He stares someplace above Yoshiki’s head.
“There’s one?” Yoshiki whips around, to see nothing.
“Nope,” Hikaru denies.
Yoshiki was glad to have also stolen a pan, placing it on their makeshift disgrace of a stove.
Eating it straight from the pan with takeout chopsticks is about to be fun.
“Oh, they ain’t actually bad,” chirps Hikaru enthusiastically. “Ah, buwnt ma tongue.”
“So, why’dya go through all the trouble?” Yoshiki holds up a piece with chopsticks, letting it cool.
“What, breakfast?” Hikaru asks like Yoshiki is being dumb.
‘Yeah, I halfway expected to wake up next to ‘im and all,’ thinks Yoshiki before tucking that thought aside.
“Yeah, ya remember what they said? A classic majirimono doesn’t really get benefits besides bein’ an impurity target, but that yer so special an’ all,”
(The ‘special one’ wiggles his eyebrows before once again prematurely placing a mushroom into his mouth and cussing.)
“..I supposedly don’t need food or sleep or whatever anymore, just like ya.”
“Well, they can say that,” Hikaru chews thoughtfully, “but it’s yer custom to do that and who knows if they’re actually right.”
“Besides,” he smirks, “I like doin’ ‘em too. Yer human stuff. Doncha?”
“It depends,” Yoshiki frowns, feeling his ears get warmer. He sure liked getting a whole night’s sleep with Hikaru, but he feels like he’s confessed enough for now.
“Nee, Yoshiki,” Hikaru jabs around in the pan.
“Nn?”
“D’ya think you can still die? Like of human ways of..”
Tripping and falling? Seeing a beautiful tree and losing his head over it? Freezing to death?
“..Like, downin’, flu, stuff?”
Yoshiki shakes his head as to shake the thought off.
“I dunno.”
He proceeds to eat some mushrooms before Hikaru gets them all.
…
“Ah, thinking ‘bout it, didn’tcha get yer shirt all dirty from me yesterday?”
“Wha-” Yoshiki looks down, and yep, he got some of the dirt right off Hikaru’s shirt on his own.
“We oughtta get things clean somehow,” Yoshiki grumbles.
“What I was sayin’, I found a river right around ‘ere.”
Yoshiki ponders what their near future might look like. They have a cave for sleeping and sitting around. Hikaru seems to have emotional attachment to it. There are those horrible little mushrooms he hasn’t barfed out yet. Maybe some other things later? There’s wood for warmth. How long will the lighter last? Yoshiki packed cash, they can buy what’ll be missing, true. And then they have a source of water.
“Here,” Hikaru points at the stream, details away from looking like a dog showing his master his hunted prey, eyes big, observing, waiting.
“Ohh. Great,” Yoshiki tries an awkward smile.
“Mhm,” Hikaru nods before pulling his shirt off over his head and swinging it into the water.
Oh great heavens, why hadn’t he thought of this? To wash clothes, one has to take them off. And they have no spare. And if Hikaru’s muddy, he has to take a bath as well. Who bathes clothed? Nobody, that’s who.
Hikaru moves to work the shirt and the musclesofhisbackshift and hisshouldersshift and goodgodYoshikididn’tthinkthisthrough when he promisedhefeltnothingbackthen.
“Yoshiki, are ya alright?” Hikaru asks over his shoulder, sitting on his knees modestly while Yoshiki is standing there rooted like a pervert tree.
“Yeah, sure, whatever,” Yoshiki finally moves and decides to strategically do the same by pulling his shirt off and waterboarding it.
“Whoa, ya really do have moles everywhere. Even on yer hip-”
“Uh,” Yoshiki says helpfully. Of course Hikaru has no problem with any nudity, and will look at him as if he was just looking at his nose or arm or whatever. Hikaru doesn’t get it, he looks because he’s curious, he wants to see all that he can.
In a way it’s beautiful, way closer to what Yoshiki aspires to be. And he wants to be supportive of Hikaru, which includes doing most of the things that he does without shame or avoidance. Been there and done that.
But he can’t ignore his nature, he learned that much. When he came back to Hikaru’s side, he swore he’d drop the shame. Easier said than done.
“Done!” Hikaru’s sing-song tone snaps him back to reality, where Hikaru’s twisting the shirt free of water and laying it down on a nearby stone.
“Yeah, similar here.” Yoshiki keeps his eyes diligently down out of some learned instinct.
When he turns around, Hikaru is ankles deep in the water.
“I’m gonna keep these on to not freak ya out too bad, but I’m goin’ for a swim, okay?”
“W-what, I ain’t freaked out,” Yoshiki blabbers probably too quickly. “I’m joinin’ ya right now!”
Hikaru laughs at his misfortune, and Yoshiki feels his face heat up, and Hikaru is laughing still, and Hikaru understands him, and Hikaru is not grossed out, and when Yoshiki runs into the river and trips and loses balance, Hikaru is still not grossed out as he grabs him by the exact wrist he grabbed on the first time – a promise to never leave, and Hikaru looks at the marks on his body with fondness, marks he left himself and which now crawl over his chest; Hikaru’s marks, and Hikaru laughs a little more, a little more gentle, and Yoshiki is burning up and laughing in disbelief, he shakes and doesn’t know where he is, all he knows is that he’s a little lightheaded and that Hikaru has his arm over his bare back to further support him, and that he’s guiding them deeper and..
“Ya wanna sit down?” Yoshiki hears a smiling voice impossibly close in his ear, and he nods. Cool water hits past his knees, past abdomen and he gasps in surprise.
“Haha, how shook ya are.” Hikaru is also sitting on a rock a step away from him, supporting his head with a palm, watching.
He looks strangely unaffected, but yes, that’s a god that’s chosen to entertain a human, and for once he looks the part.
But still, he looks like he belongs. A teenage boy fooling around in water in his shorts, a glint of amusement in his pale eyes.
“Thanks,” Yoshiki mutters, and he’s not sure for what he’s thanking exactly.
Hey, thanks for sticking around? For being with me? For choosing me despite having your entirely own will and freedom now? For liking me for the nervous mess I am? For holding me? For helping me sit down? For shitty fried mushrooms?
“It’s nothin’,” Hikaru replies, still looking ahead at him. He shifts to grip the rock he’s sitting on instead, giving Yoshiki a better view at his chest and exposed arms.
Yoshiki was about to be distracted, but then he focuses on the scars and it’s gone.
‘Just what is humanity willin’ to do in its pursuit of power..?’
Without realizing why, he’s reaching forward.
Hikaru grabs his wrist.
“Hey, ain’t no reason to be sad about that,” he says as if calming down a child.
“Does it hurt?” Yoshiki ignores him.
“Well, not anymore since I’m whole again..,” Hikaru trails off, dropping Yoshiki’s hand to cover the scar with his own hands.
“But did it?” Yoshiki’s focus remains on his eyes, his gaze getting avoided.
“’Course it did.” It comes out defeated.
“Ya think.. it’s gross? Gettin’ yer friend’s body destroyed like this?” Hikaru looks up with a sad smile, hugging himself.
“I wouldn’t say it’d be a problem ‘cos the body was his,” Yoshiki emphasizes. “He has his peace, and he gave this body to ya, so you should do what you want with it.”
Yoshiki clumsily scoots closer, splashing water into his face in a rush.
“But what matters is yer pain, what they did to ya.” He looks questioningly into Hikaru’s eyes before peeling his arms to hold them in his.
“And I might have stupid reactions to seein’ yer body, but that’s ‘cos I’m human somehow still an’ I can’t help it. Not because it’s his or whatever. I see you now.”
“Yer reactions are funny,” Hikaru lets out a laugh, visibly calming down.
“Yeah, I’d rather ya laugh at me than go stupid and think I feel one way or another about ya when it ain’t true.”
Yoshiki chuckles for a good measure too.
“I mean, I can’t go exactly killin’ that lady who did this to ya, but I’ll make sure they can’t touch ya again and-”
“Aw now yer gettin’ chatty,” Hikaru snickers through tears.
“Damn, you, I’m just tryin’-”
“Nah nah, I love it, thanks,” Hikaru grabs the hands back at last.
“And it’s about as darin’ as ya can get per day, ain’t it, hehehe!”
Yoshiki feels the need to retaliate, but he gets that he can’t really remove his own gloom from a situation. Leave it to Hikaru to be able to. He’s strong.
“Hey, Yoshiki.”
He snaps back to reality for the nth time that day, and it’s barely started. Aand his eyes are still on Hikaru’s tits. Awesome. Great work.
He shoots them back at Hikaru’s face. “Yeah?”
“If ya ain’t afraid and ya won’t get a heart attack..”
“What.” Yoshiki deadpans.
“Ya wanna try the human thing I bet yer itchin’ to do right now?”
“The..?”
Hikaru makes an atrocious kissy face added with the sound effects and Yoshiki recoils and would skitter right out of the river were he not held by Hikaru.
“Screw you!” he screeches in shame to yet another one of Hikaru’s bursts of laughter.
“Sorry, really sorry for bullyin’ ya all the time, it’s just that yer so damn funny-”
“Well, I’m glad I’m of entertainment, sire,” Yoshiki frowns despite the corner of his mouth twitching upwards.
“Oh, I’m sure ya’ll be fine,” Hikaru pats his knee and it shoots straight up his spine.
“Hm,” Hikaru makes a thoughtful face, “I ain’t kiddin’ though. Ya wanna?”
Yoshiki concludes Hikaru worrying about a heart attack might not be so far off as he nods, eyes closed, probably being really ugly. He has no bangs to shield his expression and he genuinely hopes it can’t be anything like a turn-off to Hikaru. Can Hikaru get a turn off?
“Wait, why do ya even want to?”
It’s Hikaru’s turn to deadpan.
“We’re in the middle of the “cursed” mountain.” He lifts his eyebrows. “Means ain’t no peepers here. I feel like that’s half of the reason why ya’d be so worried all the time back then. Like kickin’ me outta yer bed in the mornin’ those few times.”
It stings a little remembering it. But Yoshiki supposes he was just being reasonably careful.
“Yeah.”
“And I’ve never tried it, and I wanna try everythin’ with you,” he exclaims like it’s damn obvious.
Yoshiki supposes it is. He feels a surge of bravery he might regret, but he’s not wasting a minute more, so he gracelessly takes the extra step through water to grab Hikaru by the face and plunge them both onto the riverbed.
They’re both wet and Yoshiki can feel his pants abandoning his skinny ass, and his hair is again falling into his eyes, and it all feels like yesterday that they went through it all together, and Hikaru is looking at his open, panting mouth, and he feels bold, so bold..
Everything is wet as he smacks their lips together, and he feels sparks, and it sparks under his closed eyes as he loses control again and they fall back under the water.
Hikaru doesn’t care – he gnaws at his bottom lip and Yoshiki thinks that if there were sharks in the water, they’d know where to get him, but there are no sharks, the only predator is Hikaru who pulls them both out of the water, chest to chest, and he swipes the bangs out of Yoshiki’s eyes.
“Yer soul is so shiny,” he speaks almost inaudibly, lips rubbing against Yoshiki’s with every syllable. Yoshiki might die for real.
“Y-yes.”
Hikaru licks into his mouth. That’s damn brutal. Everything he dreamed of.
After a minute or so without much needed oxygen, Yoshiki gasps as he asks:
“D’ya think I could also get a go with yer chest?”
Hikaru smirks, not as breathless. He doesn’t need to. Yoshiki is too close to passing out just thinking about it.
“Like good ol’ days?”
Yoshiki’s “yeah” gets swallowed, literally and figuratively.