Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A light summer breeze blows through the leaves of the large oak tree. It also moves the two papers tied to one of its lower branches. The way they danced on the wind was magical to your seven year old mind. It was as if something or someone was reading them, invisible hands gently holding the paper and watching over you in the process.

You had been too short to tie your paper to the tree so your grandmother had done it for you. She had tied one of her own as well next to yours on the branch. Her nimble hands knot the string on the branches and look at it in contentment.

“The Gods of this mountain are always watching over us.” She says with her hands crossed in front of her.

You look over in curiosity under the swaying branches to a statue. It was technically two but they were intertwined together. 

A pitch black fox with one purple eye is caught leaping up. It looks mischievous, much like the stories you have heard of trickster spirits that lure people away from their homes. The other being was a large white dragon. It leaps down, following the fox with a look of glee. Its bright blue eyes follow the fox’s next move. The statue reminds you of Ying and Yang, these two beings that encompass that watch over this mountain.

“I will make us tea.” She says gently. You look back at her as she turns and walks into the house. Once she is gone you cautiously walk up to the statues. 

“Um-” You start nervously, “I know that you guard this mountain but could you guard my grandmother too? She is alone up here and I can’t visit often. You don’t have to grant my other wish! Just- just this one.”

There is no reaction from the statue, no voice telling you that it knows you are there or heard you. You lower your eyes and turn around to walk away. Maybe the gods don’t exist-

A gust of wind swirls around you suddenly. You whip your head back at the statue and it seems as if the eyes of the two gods are staring at you. In any other situation you would feel uncomfortable to be stared at but this was different. You swear you hear faint laughter on the wind that lightly brushes past you.

Taking this as a promise you grin, “Thank you!”

Once again there is no reaction but you feel better than before. Your Grandmother calls your name and you rush back inside the house to her, leaving behind the two gods.

______

Death is hard to explain to a ten year old. 

Your parents try their best but your inquisitive mind makes it harder then it should be.

“When is Grandma getting back?” You ask your mother. She holds back her flinch as she answers,

“She won’t be back,” You see tears well up in her already red eyes, “but she did leave you a letter when she left.”

Gently she hands you a letter. It has your name written on the front in your Grandmother’s handwriting. Many times you would be fascinated at her elegant hand writing. You take it with reverence and begin to slowly open it. 

To my dearest Grandchild

I am leaving, it will be a long journey but I hope you will look after the house and shrine in my

absence. The entirety of it will be given to you on your twenty-fifth birthday, I hope you will enjoy this last gift from me. Please know that I will always love you and will be looking after you even when I am gone.

With love,

Your Grandmother

It is a lot to look after but you will honor her request as best you can. You hug the letter to your chest and you can smell her perfume on the paper. 

Your twenty-fifth birthday is so far away.

______

The tall mountain looms over you as the car drops you off at the bottom. A large red torii gate marks the entrance to the stone path. You smile as you remember touching the right pillar every time you ascend the stairs when you were younger.

“Are you sure you will be alright? No one has lived there for years.” The older man says as he hands you your bags from the trunk. 

“Don’t worry! This place was my Grandmother’s, it was her last wish for me to have it.” You explain as you take the last bag.

The man looks skeptical but just sighs at your determination.

“There is a town a few minutes from here, if you need help contact me. Me and my grandson will come and help you.” He says with a stern look as he climbs back into the cab.

“I will keep that in mind, Thank you Mr-” You pause, giving him time to respond.

“-Itadori, Wasuke Itadori.”

“Thank you Mr. Itadori.” You say. He just shakes his head and closes the car door.

As he drives away you wave at him and when his car is a speck of black on the horizon you turn back to the mountain. Hauling your backpack over your shoulder and picking up your other bag you walk to the first gate. Once you stand under the gate you put your right hand on the right pillar. 

“I am back.” You whisper to the mountain like an old friend. When you pull your hand back it feels tingly, like tv static is under your skin. You blink down at it for a second but shake it off.

Halfway up the mountain the stone path splits into three. Each path is overgrown with weeds, two of them you can’t even see the stone that you know lay underneath. But the one in the center is more clear then the others, Grass and weeds peek out between the stones but haven’t fully taken over. 

That is the path up to the house and shrine. You remember the many times when you were young when you would run up the stones, leaving your parents chasing after you, to run into your Grandmother’s arms. A grief long since buried wakes up in your chest as you start up the path. You don’t cry but it is an emotional walk up.

Soon the trees part and you are met with the sight of the house. It is a one story house with an engawa that wraps around the house. You remember drinking tea in the summer sitting on the engawa looking out at the trees. Cherry trees line the clearing and to the left is the large ginkgo tree that has the statue under it. The statue is facing the house but it feels like the eyes are staring at you. You glance over at it. It makes for a peaceful picture, a swaying ginkgo tree and a statue that has rested there for a hundred years. 

Breaking eye contact with the dragon and fox you walk up the stairs and into the house. 

You have long since lost your belief in gods.

______

The house is a mess. You curse that damn lawyer who had assured you that it was looked after. Everything is in its place but years worth of dust coat everything in sight. Along with the dust is dirt, it seems that maybe an animal had gotten in here at some point. You just hope there is no mold. If there is, you will be suing the lawyer, which sounds ironic.

You put your two bags down with a sigh. Luckily you had brought cleaning supplies in case this happened. Digging through your bag you pull out the supplies and a few towels. You should probably start in the kitchen. 

The kitchen is old fashioned but large. You move past the central island and stare at the sink. ‘It is better to cover all the bases first.’ You think as you turn the knob for the sink. When water comes gushing out you sigh in relief, you are happy that you won’t have to bathe in the river. 

You put the supplies on the counter and get to work. The counter and sink are scrubbed thoroughly, the cabinets and fridge are gone through and all the out of date food is thrown out, you also clean the window above the sink that looks out at the forest. In that time you go through at least three trash bags and a few of your towels need to be thrown out. 

It is all worth it to see the kitchen back to its former glory. 

Next you check the electricity. You plug in your phone charger and cheer when the little green lightning bolt flashes on your screen. This means you can use the washer and dryer which fills you with glee. Picking up the towels you make your way to the laundry room and open the dusty washer lid. You quickly dust off the lid and drop the towels in. This will be the first of many loads of laundry. 

Venturing into the master bedroom you find a dresser, a bed and two sliding shoji doors out to the engawa. You open up the two doors and let the air come in. A nice breeze fills the room and you breathe a bit easier. You pull the sheets off of the bed and put them in the steadily growing pile of laundry. When all the sheets are off you pull the mattress off the bed frame and lean it on the railing of the porch. Hopefully that will air it out so you can use it tonight. 

You find a broom in one of the closets and sweep the room. After that you mop until the floor sparkles. Hearing the washer buzz you lean the mop against the wall and switch the towels into the dryer. Coming back to the bedroom you grab the sheets and put them in. You check on the mattress and are pleased to see it is better than before, some of the dust has been cleaned off but you shake it to make sure. Some dust falls off and you drag it back in when you are satisfied. You will probably buy a new mattress in the next few days but for now it will do.

Making your way back into the kitchen you look out the door to see that the sun is setting. It dips under the trees and most of your natural light leaves with it. You turn on the lights in the kitchen and eat the food you had bought from a fast food place on your way here. It is not a lot but it is enough for tonight. There is food you brought in the cabinets but you don’t feel like cooking at this point.

When you are done eating you shut the front door and check on the laundry. The dryer is done and you begin to fold the towels as the sheets dry. You stack them in the corner of the now clean bedroom, not trusting anywhere else. In anticipation for the clean sheets you put the mattress back on the cleaned bed frame. 

The dryer buzzes and you get up off the mattress and rush to it. Pulling out the now clean sheets you sigh in contentment. It is the easiest thing you have done all day to put the sheets onto the bed.

“Fuck yeah.” You exhale as you finally lay back on the bed. 

Exhaustion takes over your body as you practically sink into the mattress. As you look up at the dark ceiling you are proud of your accomplishments and hope that you will get more done tomorrow.

---*---

Sunlight hits your face and you bask in the warmth of it. You move over slightly to feel more of it and you hear a chuckle. A hand runs through your hair and you lean into the touch. Your groggy brain registers the motion but then remembers that you were alone on the mountain last time you checked. Brows furrowing you open your eyes. 

Sunlight shines down on you but it is blocked by someone, a man you think, your eyes are still adjusting to the light. His hand stops momentarily and you mourn the loss. 

“You need rest,” He says. His voice is deep and sweet, “you have worked hard today.”

Your eyes focus and you see a pair of deep purple eyes staring back at you. That can’t be right, no one can have purple eyes. You want to speak, you want to question this man but sleep has you. Slowly your eyes close again and you drift off.

Chapter Text

When you wake back up it is the morning. You stare up at the white ceiling and can’t help but feel a bit unsettled by the dream. Sure the human mind can make things up in dreams but something about this felt too real. You can still feel his hands in your hair, the sun on your skin.

Throwing the covers off you get up. Determinedly you check every part of the house, every nook and cranny is inspected. When you stop rampaging across the house you see the two large shoji doors leading outside are wide open. You stare out at the ginkgo tree and the statue underneath it. Narrowing your eyes the light hits the fox’s eyes just right so that it looks like amusement.

Maybe it was-

You shake your head in dismissal. Gods aren’t real. With a huff you march to the kitchen. 

Morning light filters in through the window as you lean on the counter basking in the taste of your coffee. It is a picturesque morning, except for one thing. Looking across the kitchen to the living room you sigh at the work ahead of you. 

You had already decided on cleaning the living room today, it was much bigger and will take a lot more time then the bedroom and kitchen.

Once the coffee is gone and you have eaten something you change out of your pajamas. Since you are alone you don’t really put any effort into your outfit. An old shirt and pair of pants are perfect for cleaning the house in your opinion. 

You decide to change it up today and grab your wireless speaker and set it on the kitchen counter. No one else is on this mountain so you can blast music as you clean, you hope it will help motivate you more. 

Grabbing your phone you flip through your music app until you find a good playlist and press play. Loud music blasts out of the speakers and you get to work.

The living room is pretty empty except for the couch, mantle, coffee table and rug. You inspect the couch and are thankful for no mold. Taking the couch apart you wonder if you have a vacuum. You look through a closet and find an old but still functioning one. 

Score.

This makes your job ten times easier.

You peel off the covers for the cushions and throw them in the designated laundry pile and begin to vacuum the couch. It is amazing how many times you have to change the bag but it is done. When you are satisfied with that you push it to the far left wall. 

Next you set your sights on that rug. You take it outside and beat it, dust flies off of it. Leaving it laying over the railing of the engawa you walk back in to sweep and mop the wood floors.

______

About three hours in you decide to take a break. The sun is at its peak as you sit on the engawa and sip on your water. 

You have no wifi up here yet so you can’t scroll through social media which sucks but the view is scenic. 

Maybe you could read instead. Quickly you grab your current read from your bag and return to your previous position. You find the page you were on a resume reading. Eventually you wind up leaning against one of the door frames as you read.

You are so absorbed in your book that you don’t hear a trio of footsteps. A paw delicately taps your knee and you whip your head up. Three foxes look up at you with wide eyes. You blink back at them in confusion.

The last time you were here you were sure there were no foxes but a lot can change in fifteen years. They don’t look skittish, maybe they have never seen a human before. They look to still be in adolescence so it is possible. 

The fox in the middle approaches you slowly. Its fur is a dark brown, almost black color and its light brown eyes watch you intensely. The fox sniffs the air as you reach your hand out to meet it in the middle. Once it has inspected you it rubs its face on your hand with a cheerful yip.

“Brave little thing.” You smile down at it.

The other two take this as a sign to approach you as well. The lightest one of the bunch scrutinizes your hand as if it is offended that you have not petted it yet. It yips at you and you scratch behind its ears with your other hand. 

The first backs away from your hand to let the smallest walk over to you. This one is more cautious than the other two. You don’t even realize that you were holding your breath until it yips in approval and licks your hand.

“I don’t know where you three came from but I am happy to let you stay here.” You say to the three of them. 

It is almost as if they understand you because the tense atmosphere dissipates and they do make themselves at home. The first fox climbs up into your lap and curls up on you. The other two curl up to either side of you. 

Well, it looks like you have gained some new friends.

When you deem your break over you gently move the first fox and get up. They make small noises of protest as you move into the living room.

“I am sorry, but if I don’t get it down now then it won’t get done today.” You explain to them as they follow you through the sliding doors into the living room. “And wouldn’t you three prefer a couch to hardwood floors?”

Looking back at them you can see them looking at each other as if they were having a conversation. They notice your stare and look back up at you. And you aren’t going to question it, you are just going to go on with your day.

As you start cleaning the walls of the living room the foxes curl up on the pile of couch cushions. You can’t complain about it because you did promise them the couch. But you do take a picture of them with your phone and set it as your phone background. They are all snuggled together, softly breathing, their trust in you is apparent.

It is dusk when you finish your work and you practically collapse on the reput together couch.

Today was a productive day, after you finished the living room you cleaned the hall and the laundry room. You have also begun to keep a list of everything you are going to buy when you head back down to town. The prospect of walking back down the mountain fills you with exasperation but certain things are necessary. Maybe you should go tomorrow? 

‘No, we have enough food for at least two weeks up here’ You think to yourself.

One thing is for certain, you need to get up before you fall asleep on the couch. It is like the couch is sucking you in and you do nothing to fight it. You are just too comfortable and the day has been so long. 

“I’ll close my eyes for just a moment.” You say to yourself, closing your eyes.

---*---

“Can’t you leave?” The white haired boy says from his perch in the large ginkgo tree above you. His mouth is pulled into a toothy grin and you can see his unnaturally long canine teeth. But that was not what tipped you off about him being a spirit like you, it was the large gray horns that are nestled in his hair. He leans back against the trunk without a care in the world.

You sigh and lean back against the tree below him.

“This is my home,” You stare up at him, “Why would I want to leave?”

The boy huffs at your answer and jumps down from his branch.

“That’s so boring!” He whines and leans down to look at you.

Raising an eyebrow you stare him down with your arms crossed, “And what would you have me do dragon?”

His blue eyes sparkle with amusement.

“See the world with me?” He extends a hand to help you up. You take it with a grin and stand up.

“I would love to but-”

***

A sharp weight on your chest wakes you up. You lurch up to see a fox staring back at you. She stares down at you inquisitively.

It is pitch black outside and when you check your phone it reads twelve am. So much for shutting your eyes for a minute. Trying to think back you can't remember what it was about, just a warm feeling in your chest. Well, most people don't remember their dreams so it must not be that important.

“Sorry, I fell asleep, let's get to bed.” You say and reposition the fox so you are holding her.

You did not remember when you had begun to consider them girls, but they had not protested it. So you have referred to them as girls, maybe you should name them as well. 

The house is hard to navigate in the dark but you manage it. Gently you put the fox down on your bed. You drag yourself through your bedtime routine. Once you have closed all the doors and windows you fall into bed. 

The girls have made themselves at home on your bed. The first fox is curled up on the right side of your bed and is snoring softly. The second has decided to lay on your pillow and the one that woke you up is sleeping next to the one on the pillow.

“That’s my pillow.” you grumble at her before moving her over so you can fully lay down. She makes a noise of protest but you don’t give her back your pillow

Before you go to bed you spend some time staring up at your ceiling in the dark. These last two days have been the most eventful of your life, even college doesn’t top the weird dreams and the foxes. You just hope that life remains peaceful for the rest of the time you are here

Chapter Text

It is easy to settle in after the house is clean. Over the rest of your first week you finish cleaning the whole house. Some things are thrown out and you add your own things to personalize the house to your liking. But most of it you keep the same, it reminds you of your Grandmother, she is in every place on this mountain. It is a comforting presence to have around you. In your second week you begin to start routines and habits. You even have a morning routine with the girls now. 

So for the most part, life has been good.

But the dreams have not stopped, sometimes you remember them or you are laying under the ginkgo tree with that man. From what you can tell it must be your brain making up something to comfort you in the absence of human interaction. That is the only reason that makes sense, so that is the one you are going with. The imaginary man makes for good conversation though.

It is a quiet Saturday morning, most mornings are quiet here, except for the normal noises of the forest. You are on a cushioned mat on the part of the engawa off of the living room. It overlooks the side of the house and the statue. With a book in one hand and your coffee in another you bask in the morning sunlight. 

The foxes come and go as they please and you don’t keep them. They mostly stay glued to your side in the mornings and then venture out in the afternoon but they always come back at night. It was nice to have company up here. You even talk to them sometimes which you don’t know if it is healthy but you don’t care.  Tsumiki, the first fox, is the most loving. She will curl up to your side in the mornings while Nanako and Mimiko bask in the sun closer to the end of the engawa. It had been a game of trial and error to figure out names for them. It had taken you hours of names to find ones they approved of. 

Your phone buzzes and draws you out of your quiet contentment. Picking up your phone you dread about who is texting you and put down your coffee. 

Have you made any more progress in your manuscript? The deadline is fast approaching.

Maybe you should just quit and become a hermit. You're already halfway there since you moved up here. You groan audibly at the prospect of crawling back to your blank word document but you made a deal and will see it through. Writer's block has had you in a choke hold for a while but you need to power through it.

“I have to get up, Tsumiki.” You say visibly down. She blinks up at you as you gently move her. “I know, I don’t want to get up either but work calls.”

The fox follows you into your room as you grab your laptop. She studies you as you set up to try to write on your book. Leaning against the headboard you get into your laptop. Tsumiki assumes her position against your side

Truly, you feel bad for Asahi, he has to put up with you. You had met him your first year of college when you still hadn't figured out your major yet. He had become your first friend that you made for a while. He had been the one to push you to write and you had taken him up on his offer to be your editor. So now a few years later the two of you keep in touch often. He is a good man and always checks up on you when he hasn’t heard from you in a while. 

And half an hour later you stare at the blinking cursor on the blank document. Debating throwing your laptop out the window you close the lid with a sigh. Maybe after you run down to town you will get ideas.  

______

Before heading out the door you pat yourself down to make sure you have everything. Keys, wallet, phone and bags are all with you. You didn’t know if they would have bags so you brought some of your own just in case. 

“Okay!” You say cheerfully as you turn to the foxes, “I will be back after I get groceries, be good and don’t tear up the house please.”

They look sad at your departure but you need food to eat so you have too. Your eyes soften and you pet each of them once on the head as you walk out the door. 

The walk down the mountain is scenic, the leaves will start to turn soon. Summer is still here but you can see the signs of fall’s approach. You will have to prepare for the weather to get colder soon but for now your mission is groceries and the other things on your list.

As you pass by the torii gate you touch it. The wood feels like it is vibrating as you do, you pull your hand back as your hand feels like static. When the tingling feeling begins to make it's way up your arm you pull back your hand. What the hell-

No, you are going to let it go, there must be a normal explanation for that.

Moving swiftly along the walk to town was not that long. It felt longer the first time because of the anticipation of being back here. 

The village is small, just like you remembered it. Small houses and stores line the cracked streets. It was so different from the smoothed paved streets of Tokyo, little flowers and weeds grow out of the cracks in the pavement. You remember coming here for festivals, your grandma guiding you through the crowds in your bright blue yukata that she kept for you. The lanterns illuminated the childhood wonder that you looked at the world with. 

Now that you are older you will have to get a new yukata to participate in the festivals here. 

A crowd of people are all congregating ahead and you walk over to see why. Stalls have been put up in the square and various goods are displayed in each. You don’t remember there being a farmers market here but you certainly aren’t complaining. 

Combing through the stalls you purchase things that you need and things that catch your eye. In the end the bags come in handy because your arms would be full with vegetables, fruit and other items if you didn’t bring them. You walk out of the group of stalls with three bags full of things, a box of fresh bread and a bouquet of flowers. 

Next you look for a shop that would have cleaning supplies in it. You had used up most of your cleaning supplies and laundry detergent in the last two weeks.

A general store comes up on your right and you internally cheer. You push the door open and a bell alerts the older man behind the counter of your entry. He smiles kindly at you as you begin to look through his shop. 

Shifting your three bags to your left arm you pick up the cleaning supplies, laundry detergent and a few new sponges. As you walk up to the counter a bright yellow box catches your attention. Looking at it a picture of a projector is printed on the side.

“How much for the projector?” You ask, turning to the man. He seems to think about it before answering. 

“500 yen.” He says and begins to ring up the stuff you have in your hands.

You smile, pick up the projector and put it on the counter along with everything else. It had been a dreadful thought to lug a tv up the stairs to your house but a projector will be easier and more fun. You can already imagine putting up an old sheet on one of the walls and putting on a movie. The foxes would probably end up curl up next to you, watching along.

The old man tells you your total and you hand over the right amount of yen. He counts it and gives you back your change. You take it, put it in your pocket and put your things in your fourth bag.

“You have a lot to carry, where are you headed?” He asks you curiosity plainly in his eyes.

“Oh just up the mountain! It is truly not that far.” You answer and his eyes widen.

“You shouldn’t have to carry all of that by yourself! I will lend you a hand.” He says.

“Please don’t, I will be okay-“

“YUJI! Come here!” The old man yells into the back of the shop.

Before you can stop him a boy around sixteen with bright pink hair emerges from the back. He looks from the old man to you and back, trying to decipher the situation. 

“Yes, Mr. Mori?” He asks and walks out.

“Will you please help them with their bags? They are walking up the mountain with those bags.” Mr. Mori explains to Yuji, who nods intently.

“Sure!” He agrees and takes off his apron and walks over to you. The boy shakes your free hand, “Yuji Itadori! Nice to meet you.”

You startle at his forwardness but introduce yourself.

“This really isn’t necessary! I will be fine!” You try to convince the man but he just shakes his head with a smile.

“No, I was friends with your Grandmother, she would want us to help you. My knees are not as reliable as they once were so Yuji will be helping you in my stead.” He explains and sits on a stool behind the counter.

“Thank you Mr. Mori.” You thank him and both you and Yuji walk out of the store.

The walk is quiet for a minute before the both of you begin to talk.

“Are you related to Wasuke Itadori?” You ask him and the boy brightens.

“Yes! He is my Grandfather. Most people aren’t too fond of his grumpy demeanor but he has raised me since my parent’s death.” He explains to you while using his free hand to gesture as he talks.

“You will have to say hi to him for me. He was the one who drove me to the bottom of the mountain. I don’t want him to worry about me.” You say as you approach the torii gate.

“Of course! I will be happy to.” He says with a wide grin.

Like before you touch the gate and greet the mountain. It vibrates again and you just take it as the mountain greeting you. Yuji looks momentarily confused but follows suit after you remove your hand. You chuckle as he puts his hand to the gate.

“Sorry, it was a habit I picked up from my Grandmother.” You explain, “She would always greet the mountain before she would walk up.”

Yuji hums thoughtfully, “It must be polite then.” 

You laugh at his seriousness about greeting the mountain. But a part of you is happy that he is respecting it, it makes your heart swell with pride.

“ Alright, you don’t have to walk up with me, Yuji.” You say and hold out your hand for his half of the bags. He smiles and begins to walk up the stairs.

“One thing you will learn about me is that I always see things through,” He says over his shoulder as he walks, “I get my stubborn streak from Gramps!”

With no room to argue you just shake your head and walk up the stairs. 

______

When you reach the top of the stairs Yuji marvels at your house.

“It’s beautiful up here! How come no one comes up here?” He asks as he sets the bags down on your kitchen counter.

“I don’t know, my Grandmother took care of it and when I would come here in the summer no one came to pay their respects.” You explain and put things away as you do.

“Weird! But I might as well pay my respects since I am here.” He says and you huff in amusement at him.

“Alright.” You search for some incense in the drawers, you know you saw some when you were cleaning. Finally you find it and a lighter. He takes the incense and lights it. 

The two of you go out to the side of the house where the statue is. Yuji bows his head and says something under his breath that you can’t hear. Then he puts the incense down in the… incense holder? When did that get there? 

It certainly hasn’t been there for the past two weeks that you have been here.

You are going to ignore that, maybe you just didn’t see it. This is the first time you have been this close to the statue since you have been here. So there is a reasonable explanation for this.

“Oh!” You exclaim and run into the house, you don’t want Yuji to leave empty handed. Grabbing a container of cookies you walk out to meet him. With a lot of your time on your hands you had picked up baking to fill some of the time. That was the latest batch and your best so far. The first batch was... less then satisfactory to say the least.

“Here Yuji!” You hand him a tupperware filled with cookies. “For your troubles and your Grandfather.”

His eyes widen with excitement, “Thank you!”

“It’s no problem! Be safe Yuji.” You assure him and he waves as he begins his walk down the mountain.

He seems kind and a part of you hopes that he will stay around.

Chapter Text

Yuji watches the sun get lower in the sky as he walks down the mountain. It lights up the trees as he leisurely walks down. This was not the way he thought his day woud go but he seems to have gained a friend and cookies out of it so he can't complain. You seem nice, and the cookies you gave him win him over. He had already eaten two by the time he was halfway down the path. Yuji was easy to win over when good food was involved. And he was happy that you liked his Grandfather. 

Most people were off put by his grumpiness but you on the other hand were not.

He watches as the road converges, the three paths that go up the mountain combining on the way down. Good thing the other paths are overgrown or else he might take the wrong one when he comes back up here.

Suddenly his foot snags on something and he is falling into the brush on the side of the path. 

“SHIT-“ He yelps as his side hits something hard. It feels like a rock but smoother.

Yuji feels it break under his weight and scrambles away. He hopes that this doesn’t anger the spirits on the mountain. When he looks in the grass he was he sees a small statue. It is no more then a foot tall and in the shape of a small dragon. 

“What are you doing here?” A voice says from in front of him.

A boy is standing in the place where the thing he broke was. He looks around Yuji’s age, his face is grumpy and his eyes seem to pierce into Yuji’s soul. It is obvious from his face that he is displeased with Yuji being here. His arms are crossed across his chest as he stares Yuji down.

“I was just helping the person who lives here!” He tries to explain while getting up.

The boy narrows his eyes and walks forward. Yuji quickly puts his hands up in surrender as he steps back as the boy moves forward. He push Yuji until the two of them are both on the path. When the light hits him Yuji’s breath hitches.

He is beautiful. His bright green eyes shine a brilliant emerald when the light from the setting sun hits them. The light illuminates freckles on his face and they look almost black which is weird. But the weirdest part is the small horns and the switching tail. 

Yuji must be hallucinating.

“You- what are you?” He asks dumbfounded at the being in front of him.

He raises an eyebrow but answers, “I am a dragon.”

“But dragons aren’t real?” Yuji says but it comes out more like a question.

The boy sighs deeply. 

“I am not going to argue human, I have better things to do.” He says and turns up to walk back up where Yuji came from.

“Wait!” Yuji calls after him and catches up. “What are you doing that is so important?” 

“I need to unseal them.”

---*---

You sigh deeply as you stare up at the man. 

“We really need to stop meeting like this.” You mutter, visibly displeased at him. 

He raises an eyebrow and fights a fond smile.

“Do we?” 

“Yes!” You throw your hands up in the air, careful to not hit the man’s face. 

“If you are a figment of my imagination,” You point up at him from your position on the ground, “Which is the only proper explanation, you would think that my mind would be creative!”

He runs his hand through your hair with a hum. “And if I am not a figment of your imagination?”

His deep purple eyes study your face with amusement. You roll your eyes at his question. He obviously is not real because one, people can’t have purple eyes and two, they don’t have fox ears and nine tails.

“Okay,” You glare at him, “If- if you are real why haven’t I seen you outside this place?”

A look crosses his face and it seems you have crossed a boundary.

“I am sorry,” You say and back track, “This is just weird y'know?”

“There is not much I can tell you, we are still… restricted.” He tries to explain.

“We?” You ask, confused. 

Are there more people here? 

You haven’t seen anyone else.

He smiles brightly, “Yes, me and Satoru have been trapped here for four hundred years.”

A feeling pulls at your chest, “That must be lonely.”

“It is fine, he is restless and doesn’t stay in one place for long. Whenever I tell him that I see you he whines about how unfair it is.”

“He sounds like quite the character.” You laugh.

“Are you talking about me?” A new voice says from further up the tree.

“Yes we are Satoru, you need to conserve your power more so they can see you.” The man chides. 

You squint up at the tree and something climbs down the tree. When it gets close you recognize it as a small dragon. 

Satoru is a dragon, a tiny dragon, but a dragon nonetheless. He flies down and lands on your chest. His blue reptilian eyes stare at you with curiousity. 

The man snorts at his friend’s appearance and the dragon glares at him.

“This is unfair that you get your human form back sooner than I did! I am stuck like this! My poor ego!” Satoru complains and flops down on you. You can tell that he has a very dramatic personality from the first few minutes you have known him.

“It’s not my fault that my tails hold more energy.” He says and flicks Satoru who gasps in shock.

“He is bullying me!” He says to you with his wide eyes looking at you.

You laugh at his dramatics, “Don’t look at me, I can’t help you.”

Satoru suddenly looks up, his blue eyes wider than saucers. He looks around for something you can’t see.

“He is free.” Satoru mutters more to himself then either of you.

“Did Megumi…?” The man doesn’t fully finish his sentence and Satoru nods. “What a lovely surprise our son has given us.”

“You have children?” You ask with disbelief in your tone and he laughs at your question.

“Yes, we are blessed with three daughters and one son.” He explains as his nine tails sway gently behind him.

His words make your heart feel heavy. A weight settles in your chest as you look between them. “I am happy for you two.”

They both look a little stunned before they look at each other and laugh.

“Thank you Sweetheart. But they are all troublemakers, I think It comes from Satoru.” 

“Me?!” The dragon looks so offended at his comment, “You are the trickster spirit here Suguru!”

Suguru just snickers at him behind one of his tails, which only makes Satoru more angry. He flaps his small wings in his rage.

“No need to get violent Satoru~”

“Don’t patronize me Suguru!” Satoru gripes and curls up on your chest with his head away from Suguru.

“We must prepare to meet our son,” Suguru addresses you, “And you need to rest.”

“Is he coming here?” You question and hide a yawn behind your hand.

“No, he can't get here. We will be going to him I suppose.” 

His words give you pause, “Will I still see you guys?”

It makes you sheepish after you say it. You are talking to a man in a dream about whether he is coming back. But his eyes soften immediately.

“We will see you very soon Sweetheart, we won’t make you wait long.” Suguru promises and you shut your eyes.

“Don’t miss us too much!” Satoru tacks on.

You laugh sleepily and feel sleep drag you down under.

“Wait for us.”

***

You wake up slowly, some sort of melancholy holds you in your bed. It is finally noon when you get the motivation to get out of your bed and start your day.

Like all the mornings before this you sit outside and sip your coffee. You stare at the statue. It looks shinier than before. The rock looks polished and gleams in the midday sun. 

The foxes have gone off somewhere, you just hope that they are safe and haven’t gotten into any trouble.

Something slithers near your foot and you jump out of your skin. 

A small black snake lifts its head and stares at you from its place near your foot. It's green eyes study your face with a look of judgment. Do snakes have the capacity to judge others? 

Also how many animals do you have to befriend before you gain Disney princess status, because it has to be at least four.

“Hello little snake,” You say and reach out to it, “what are you doing here?”

The snake dodges your attempt to touch it. It flicks its tongue at you and turns around. You furrow your brows in confusion as it slithers down the stairs. It looks back at you as if it wants you to follow it. You are sure that most snakes aren't this demanding.

With nothing better to do you shrug and follow it. 

It slithers through the grass to the statue and looks back.

“I get, I am following you.” You say with a sigh and approach the statue. If snakes could roll their eyes you are sure this snake just did. It slithers up the statue and rests on top and just stares at you.

Cool, now what does it want you to do?

It tips its head downward to the statue.

“I don’t know what you want me to do,” You explain exasperatedly, wondering why you are even doing this, “do you want me to touch it?”

The snake fucking nods at you.

“Fine! I will touch it.” You say and you just want to get this over with.

You reach your hand out to touch the rock. It meets some sort of resistance, as if there was a barrier around it. But your hand is able to push through and you put your hand directly on top next to the snake. The palm of your hand feels like static, it is the same when you touch the torii gate but vastly different somehow. Your hand begins to feel a bit weak. The weak feeling snakes it way up your arm slowly. It is like something is being drawn out of you. 

The statue is draining you of something and you don’t know what it is.

Chapter Text

You attempt to pull your hand back from the stone but it is stuck. No matter how hard you pull your hand it is firmly stuck to the top of the stone. The static feeling turns into sharp pins and needles. It hurts as you struggle to detach yourself. 

The mountain begins to tremble, very low at first but it soon shakes with such a force that if your hand wasn’t stuck you would have fallen over. Birds leave their nests with calls of warning for others. Little animals that hide in bushes retreat from the area. Even the plants themselves tremble with something akin to anticipation.

As the mountain shakes the statue begins to glow. Its golden light shines out and almost blinds you. The snake takes that as it’s cue to get the hell out of dodge. It slithers off the stone and behind you, leaving there.

You feel something crack underneath your fingers. Like glass shattering into a million pieces it crumbles. As it shatters you are free, you run back but the shaking mountain throws you to the ground. Deeming it safer to stay on the ground you turn to look at the stone.

The statue is still glowing but the golden shimmer has receded. Now the front of it, where the Dragon and Fox are, ripples like waves made by a drop of water hitting the surface. The ripples get faster and faster and then abruptly halt, so does the mountain’s shaking.

Every single thing on the mountain goes quiet.

Every bird, mammal, reptiles stops in their tracks.

You even hold your breath.

Slowly like a thing breaking out of a shell a fox emerges from the front of the statue. It struggles to get out, it pushes it's head out of the stone despite the resistance. Once it is half way out it looks around, searching for something as it finally fully emerges. The sun shines brilliantly on it's black fur and- nine tails. It’s purple eyes lock on yours.

Before you can speak or scream a roar shakes the mountain. Both your and the fox’s eyes turn back to the stone as it ripples again. This creature doesn’t seem to meet the same resistance that the fox did.

At lightning speed a white dragon flies out of the front of the stone. It is bright white besides the blue horns on it's head. It twists and turns in the air, seeming to rejoice in it's new found freedom. It’s gaze falls to you and you tense up as it barrels down to you. Flinching you shut your eyes bracing for the impact. But the collision never comes.

You slowly reopen your eyes and instead of a white dragon a man is standing above you. 

His grin is so familiar but you can't place where you know it from. But his eyes, those you recognize. You have seen them before. He is no longer a dragon, well that isn’t exactly true. Two horns spout from his head and a large tail sways back and forth behind him. The white of his haori and pants match the color of his scales.

“Satoru.” You breathe as he crouches at your feet.

Satoru’s grin widens as you say his name, “Hi Sweetheart.”

“There is no need to be so dramatic with your entrances, Satoru.” A familiar voice says from behind you.

Suguru walks over to you with both hands in the sleeves of his gojo-kesa. A smile graces his lips as he sees you staring at him. His purple eyes sparkle in pure amusement at your astonished expression.

“Suguru.”

His eyes soften as he reaches out a hand to you. “We said we would not let you wait long for us Sweetheart.”

You hesitate to take his hand. Studying his face you debate taking it. What happens after this? You haven't even processed what just happened let alone anything else that may come along with this. But his kind smile spurs you on.

‘Fuck it.’ You think and take his hand. 

He helps you up and you immediately feel dizzy. It all hit you at once and the world is spinning. Satoru is behind you in an instant to support you as you wobble. The world is fuzzy and you hold your throbbing head.

“Shit, they have lost a lot of energy.” Satoru says with concern to Suguru .

“The seal was strong, it is taking its toll.” Suguru says and picks you up bridal style.

Your body of it's own accord goes limp in his hold. You struggle to stay awake but it is a uphill battle at the moment. As your eyes close, your breathing evens out. It feels safe. They both make you feel safe even though you barely know them. 

So let your body sleep.

***

Satoru watches as you sleep in Suguru’s arms. You are so delicate like this. He had forgotten how weak humans are. Satoru hesitant to touch you in case he might hurt you or this may turn out to be a dream. He has dreamed of this so many times that he might still be dreaming and not even know it.

“We should check on the others while they rest. The Girls and Megumi can watch over them in our stead.” Suguru says and it is very sensible plan. But Satoru is not a sensible person.

“But we just got back! They need us Suguru!” He whines and Suguru rolls his eyes at his antics.

“Stop acting childish.” He scolds him.

Satoru pouts with his arms crossed and Suguru caves.

“You can hold them as we round up our children.” Suguru says and transfers you over to him. 

“They fit in my arms perfectly.” Satoru mutters to himself as you move in your sleep to get comfortable in his arms.

Both of them stand in comfortable silence just basking in being unsealed and being with you. Your soft snores are the only sound on the mountain that the two of them pay attention to.

“Father!” Megumi’s voice cuts through the silence. “Dad!”

“Megumi.” Suguru says and opens his arms as Megumi barrels into them. “You did well.”

Normally Satoru would tease him about his emotional reaction but now is not the time. Megumi clutches onto the front of Suguru’s robes and lets his emotions run through him. Suguru rubs soothing circles into his back. 

When Megumi looks up Satoru sees his eyes are puffy and red. He smiles down at his son.

“I am proud of you for being so strong Megumi.” Satoru says, which brings more tears to his eyes. “If you cry that much I might think that you didn’t want us to be unsealed!”

“Shut up.” Megumi mutters and looks at you with an intense gaze. “Will they-”

“We don’t know yet. Only time will tell.” Suguru says to him. Megumi nods stiffly.

“Father!” “Papa!” "Dad!"

Three voices call out to them and then the last three people of their family join the hug. The twins join Megumi and hug Suguru while Tsumiki cries into Satoru’s shoulder. He lay his head on top of hers in comfort.

When had his children grown so much? They had been so small once, so fragile but now each of them have grown into their own. A melancholy feeling pulls at his chest, because of him being sealed he has missed a lot of his children’s lives.

They stay like that and talk for a while, deciding how to move forward. He learns that Megumi’s seal was broken only a few hours ago but the twins and Tsumiki’s seals have been broken for a year. 

“What are we going to do now?” Tsumiki asks, her voice still wreaked from the tears.

“We need to let them sleep,” Satoru refers to you sleeping in his arms, “then we need to find the others and test how strong their seals are.”

“We can watch over them while you check on the others.” Megumi offers.

“Thank you Megumi.” Suguru accepts his offer.

Satoru knows that you will be safe with his kids.

---*---

“Look at what I found!” Satoru says and holds something up for you to look at.

“What- oh my god! Give him here!” You say and take the fox from him. 

The fox is covered in dirt and mud. His breath is labored and you see multiple cuts on him. He must have had an altercation of some sort.

You walk down the path to the stream and begin to wash the mud and dirt off of him. It flows down the river away from you. You work on getting the dirt off for at least fifteen minutes. Meanwhile Satoru just sits and watches you work with a bored expression on his face. 

“Will you be helpful and get me some cloth and medicine so I can treat his wounds?” You ask and he hops up.

“Sure!” He replies and runs off in the direction of the house.

Satoru gets back when you are almost done cleaning the last of his wounds. He passes you the medicine which you apply to the fox’s wounds after you pull him out of the stream. Other than a muscle twitch here and there the fox makes no protest. Next you wrap his wounds so that they won’t get infected.

Once you are done you take him back to the ginkgo tree. He will be able to heal better there. Satoru trails behind you, trying not to let his curiosity show. He may act nonchalant but you know he is concerned and curious about the fox. 

It has taken you months to figure him out.

You sit with your back against the trunk, put the fox in your lap and pet it gently. He should wake up soon.

“That’s my spot!” Satoru gripes and pouts next to you.

“You will get over it, besides he needs the energy. He only has two tails, he should at least have three.” You turn to scold him and he just pouts harder.

A spike of energy has the both of you whip your heads around to look at the fox, now boy in your lap. He looks to be around eighteen in human years. Long silky black hair is tied up in a ponytail. His face is all sharp edges and angles. He is probably around Satoru’s age.

“He’s not… bad looking.” Satoru says and you can see his red twinged ears.

“Yes,” You hold back a laugh behind your hand, “he is not bad looking.”

The Kitsune groans and pulls your attention away from Satoru. He shifts in his sleep and wraps both arms around your waist, holding you closer. His two tails twitch and you don’t know what that means. This is the first time you have encountered a kitsune.

“He is trying to take all of your energy!” Satoru accuses and points at his spot in your lap.

You laugh at his accusation, “I have more then enough energy for him. If he is taking it like you say he would have at least nine tails by now.”

“You are too trusting! He is a trickster spirit by nature.” Satoru says and you roll your eyes at him.

“I mean no harm.” A new voice enters the conversation. The boy looks up at you and you smile down at him.

“I know, but my friend here is a bit overprotective of me.” You use a hand to gesture to Satoru.

“Dragons are protective of what they deem theirs.” He says with a hint of amusement in his tone.

Satoru gasps in offense, “I am not overprotective! I am the normal amount of protective.”

The kitsune snorts and gets up from your lap.

“I am in your debt, whatever you ask of me I will do for you.” He offers you with his head bowed.

You are taken aback by his offer. You expect nothing in return for your kindness and will not ask for anything.

“What is your name?” You ask instead.

He looks up confused, “Is that all you want?”

“Yes.”

“Suguru Geto.” He introduces himself.

Chapter Text

When you regain consciousness you are in a bed, your bed. It must have been a dream then. That is the only explanation for why you are back in bed. You must have gone back to bed at one point and that was just a weird realistic dream.

“Do you think that they are okay?” A female voice whispers to the right of you.

“Father said that they are just drained, everything is fine Nanako.” Another female voice chides.

“What if they don’t wake up, it has been a day-”

You sit up abruptly, “It’s been a day?”

The girl next to you blinks her honey brown eyes at you in surprise. 

“It has been just over a day since you passed out.” The girl next to her says, her voice is soft and kind. 

As you absorb that information you look at the people in your house. You wonder how they got into your house and why they are here. And that isn’t even addressing the tails, ears and horns on the four of them. 

The three girls next to your bed have tails, which is not normal. Each of them have a different number of tails. The first girl who spoke has two, the second girl has three and the last girl at the end of the bed has one. They also have fox ears. And leaning against the wall is a boy with dark hair and horns on his head. 

“I have schizophrenia. That is the only explanation.” You mutter and flop back down on the bed.

“Megumi! What is that? Do we have to get Dad?” The first girl asks the boy along the wall. 

“I can get him, but Shoko would know better than him.” He says with a shrug.

The girl who told you how long you were out speaks up, “Please get Father.”

Megumi turns and walks out the doorway into the rest of the house. You turn back to the girls who smile at you. 

“Father will be able to explain better than we will.” The girl explains and ushers her sisters out the door despite their protests.

You are given a moment to yourself to gather your thoughts. Sitting up you draw your knees close to your chest. This is too much. Everything is too much right now. Hopefully whoever their father is, will help you understand or maybe you are actually going through a fit of hysteria.

“Sweetheart!” Satoru says cheerfully and enters the room. 

You don’t know why you expected anyone else.

He gets on to the bed opposite you and engulfs you in a hug. He practically covers you, his long limb curl around you. His tail even curls around you. 

“Are you doing okay? The kids got me for you. Suguru should be back soon, he is checking on the other seals on the mountain.” He says and rests his chin on the top of your head.

“I am doing… alright but um-” You say, trying to find a good way to ask it, “could you explain all of this?”

“Sure!” He says and pulls you into his lap.

Not what you were asking for but alright. You feel a little bit like a glorified rag doll in his arms. But he seems content so you aren’t going to poke the dragon- man- whatever he is.

“So about four hundred-ish years ago we were sealed in that rock! We tried to get out but no dice. So we eventually figured out that only a certain type of person could free us, you.” He says and gestures to you with a smile. “You are the first person in your family to be able to use magic! Yay!”

That’s crazy but you are currently in your house with multiple spirits and two gods so you will pick your battles.

“So when I touched the rock why did it hurt?” You ask him.

“Because our seal was so strong it pulled out a lot of energy from you all at once.” Satoru explains. “And because you were drained your body needed time to recover from the intense stress so you fainted.”

Okay that explains two things.

“So about who sealed you; are they gone or should we be worried?” You decide to cover all your bases.

“We don’t know exactly where she is so it is in our best interests to unseal the others.” He says which only leaves you with more questions.

“Others?”

“There are four more spirits sealed on this mountain that we need your help with. We were the main targets for the attack but he didn’t want anyone else to interfere so they were also sealed.” He explains, “We are hoping to unseal Shoko first so she can take a better look at you. She is the one trained in medicine, I only lightly dabbled a few hundred years ago.”

“Okay, so you need my help with four more seals and will they hurt?” You question him, hoping to not have to go through that again.

“No, we were sealed together which meant that it took more energy than someone who was sealed individually.” He says and lays his head on top of yours.

“Satoru, what have I told you about personal space?” 

You look up to see Suguru in the doorway. His arms are crossed and he looks on unimpressed with Satoru, who only curls around you more defensively. You feel like a dog's favourite toy. 

“They don’t mind!” He looks down at you with a smile, “Do you sweetheart?”

“It’s- it’s okay Suguru.” You say and feel yourself blush bright red. 

Suguru sighs and moves closer to the two of you. He sits on the edge of the bed and lets his forehead rest on Satoru’s shoulder. 

This must have been draining for them to be sealed for so long. So you decide that if they need time to just breathe or someone to hold, you can be that for them. You don’t mind giving them comfort because it feels right to do so. 

It is a while before you break the silence, “I don’t know if the two of you sleep but if you need to you can. I will probably go down to town to get more food since you are here and there will be others coming later.”

“We are fine, we will sleep tonight. If it is alright, may  we come with you?” Suguru asks tentatively.

“If you want to! I will never say no to more help to carry groceries. Hopefully Yuji has the day off after helping me yesterday.” You think out loud.

“Okay then all three of us will go and the kids will watch the house.” Satoru says and moves to get off the bed with you still in his arms.

“Could you put me down so I can get dressed?” You ask quietly and he blinks down at you as if that idea never crossed his mind.

“Sure, sorry for any inconvenience.” He apologises and sets you down on the bed.

“You don’t need to apologize, and about clothes- do you need some?” You ask as you get up and move around the room.

“We should be fine, I specialize in illusion magic so we will use that this time while we see about clothes that fit this era.” Suguru says and with a wave of his hand they change. 

Both of their non-human traits disappear in an instant. Satoru’s hair becomes more of a platinum blond then white and Suguru’s eyes turn brown instead of the vibrant purple that they were. Suguru’s robes are traded for a baggy gray sweater and black sweatpants. Satoru has on jeans, a blue button up and sunglasses. 

They both look like two regular twenty something year-olds. 

You try not to stare at them but it is a losing battle. They look good, better than any of the guys that had caught your attention. Both have clothes that suit them and you will down the flush in your cheeks. This is going to be a problem for you.

“Like what you see?” Satoru teases as he adjusts his glasses slightly.

“It will work!” You say quickly. You turn around after answering to get dressed and avoid their knowing glances. Satoru snickers behind you but they leave you to get dressed. 

______

When you get out into the living room everyone is talking to one another. Suguru is talking to the girls about something while Satoru seems to be teasing Megumi. They notice you and walk over.

“Hey!” Satoru says cheerfully, “Megumi is coming with us, he is meeting someone.”

You look behind him to see Megumi has his arms crossed and a grumpy look on his face. Suguru must have used magic because his green yukata is replaced with a white tee-shirt and jeans. 

“I just said that I wanted to check out the area.” He mutters but you see the blush dusting his cheeks. You won’t comment on it.

“Aww! Little Megumi has a crush!” The girl with light brown hair says and pokes his cheek.

“Shut up Nanako!” He exclaims and pushes her finger away. 

That name gives you pause, “Nanako?”

“We haven’t properly introduced them to you yet have we?” Suguru says and begins the introductions, 

“This is our eldest, Tsumiki.” The girl looks sheepish and waves at you.

“And the twins, Nanako and Mimiko.” The twins look anywhere but you.

You cross your arms and raise an eyebrow, “Their names are identical to the three foxes that have been with me for the past two weeks. What a coincidence.”

“We truly are sorry!” Nanako apologizes, “There hasn’t been anyone on the mountain for so long and we were curious.”

“It’s fine,” You say with a huff of amusement, “I wanted the company anyway.”

“Thank you.” Tsumiki says and you wave her off,

“I would have been lonely if you three weren’t there.”

After the introductions the four of you get ready to leave. Satoru is the first out the door, followed closely by Megumi and Suguru. This is going to be an interesting shopping trip.

Chapter Text

You learn two things very quickly when you get to town.

1. Dragons like shiny things
2. Satoru Gojo is very fast.

“Look at this!” He holds up a necklace to you. It is very pretty, a white gold chain with a leaf shaped pendant. Tiny emeralds are embedded in it. 

“It is pretty but we are looking for food, not jewelry.” You tell him gently, hoping to steer him to the food stalls where Suguru and Megumi are. He just pouts at your scolding.

“You can have it for free.” A new voice enters the conversation. An older woman in her eighties walks over and sits down on a chair behind the table. She smiles kindly at the two of you, a look of amusement on her face as she looks at the two of you.

“Oh no, we can’t just take it!” You decline her offer quickly, not wanting to take something just because of Satoru's whim.

“Thank you!” Satoru says and puts the necklace on you. 

You go to protest and take it off but the woman just waves you off, “Please take it! You two remind me of when my husband and I were younger.”

A warm feeling settles in your chest as the words are processed. Then your cheeks heat up as you realize what she means and you just nod. Satoru gazes at you with something you can’t decipher. But you aren’t given time to look into his eyes longer because Suguru and Megumi walk over.

“Have you finished dragging them around Satoru?” Suguru scolds him with an eyebrow raised.

“Oh it’s fine!” You will down the blush creeping up your neck, “I am sorry that I left you two with the shopping list.”

Beside you Satoru preens, “See Suguru~”

Suguru looks wholly unimpressed, "It's fine, we managed to get everything."

You nod in thanks and the four of you move on. You lead the way through the stalls as the three others follow you. Satoru and Suguru hold your bags and point out anything interesting that they see. Lastly Megumi trails behind seems to be searching for something in particular. His green eyes shift from stall to stall but nothing truly catches his eye.

“Are you looking for something Megumi?” You ask as the four of you are taking a break from shopping.

“Not particularly,” He says almost a bit shy, “I did want to get a gift for some one though.”

“That’s sweet, do you know what kind of things that they like?” You ask, trying to figure out a good gift.

Megumi shakes his head, “We have only just met recently and I want to-“ He stops for a second then continues, “show my gratitude.”

“Alright!” You say and stand up from your place on the bench, “Let's find something!”

Both You and Megumi spend the rest of your time looking for a suitable gift. It was hard since you weren’t given anything to go on but you tried. 

Eventually Megumi comes to a halt and looks at a phone charm. The phone charm is pink omamori with an intricate pattern to it. It also has a few Rose quartz pieces next to it. Megumi holds it up to the light and deems it worthy. You pay for the charm and Megumi’s has brightened a little from the gloomy expression he had before. 

Suguru and Satoru are waiting for the two of you with the bags. They are in the middle of a conversation but at your approach their attention is on you both. Specifically on Megumi and the charm in his hand. 

“Who is the lucky person Megs?” Satoru teases him.

“None of your-“

“Megumi!” 

You turn around to see Yuji running towards you guys with a grin on his face. He is wearing casual clothing so you assume he doesn’t have work today. When he gets over to you guys he blinks at the three of you besides Megumi.

“Oh,” He greets you, “it is good to see you again! How do you know Megumi?”

You look over at Megumi, asking for confirmation on whether he knows, he nods at you.

“Megumi and his family just introduced themselves yesterday.” You say, trying to be subtle about what happened and Yuji quickly catches on.

“I met Megumi two days ago! I helped him out.” Yuji says and glances over at Megumi who has his arms crossed.

“We need to talk.” Megumi states calmly and drags Yuji away by the collar.

“See you later!” He says, not seeming to care about the fact he is being dragged away.

After they are far enough away Suguru promptly bursts out laughing. He is clutching his stomach and is doubled over on the bench. The laughter bubbles out of his lips in waves and you are sure it is the most beautiful sound you have ever heard. It even rivals Mozart in your mind. Suguru is grinning so hard that his eyes turn into soft crescents.

“He is so secretive! He is exactly the way you were Satoru!” Suguru exclaims after he catches his breath. 

Satoru shakes his head, “I was better than that! I was very loud about it!”

You feel as if you are missing something important here.

“What is going on?” You ask and hope that it will help you understand their reactions.

“You see when a dragon finds someone they really like,” Suguru begins with a wide grin, “they court them. It is different depending on the dragon and their hoard but most of the time they will shower their person with gifts.”

You blink in confusion, what does that have to do with Megumi?

“When Satoru courted me he would always take us somewhere very private to give his gifts.” Suguru explains more seriously this time, “Megumi was very particular about the gift and dragged him off to a private spot to give it to him. Megumi is attempting to court the boy.”

Oh

“That is why he was turning down almost everything we saw!” You say with a new found understanding.

“The poor boy probably doesn’t know what is going on. But we will wait to see what is going to happen before we interfere.” Satoru says and shakes his head. 

Suguru snorts and Satoru hits him in the shoulder.

“Should we wait for them?” You ask while helping gather the bags.

Suguru contemplates it, “No if we are correct then it will be a while for Megumi to make his way home. He will want to soak up all of the boy’s attention.”

You nod and the three of you begin the walk back. 

________

It is dusk when Megumi makes his way up the mountain. 

Satoru notices his approach first and walks out to meet him. You, Suguru and the girls watch a quiet conversation unfold between the two of them from the engawa. Suguru had brewed some tea and you four had sat to bask in the evening sun. Its orangish glow gives the conversation a warm backdrop.

They talk for a while, a heart to heart unfolds between father and son. When the conversation comes to a close Satoru engulfs Megumi in a hug. Much to your surprise he hugs him back. You had assumed that he didn’t like physical interaction. 

Tsumiki, once it is clear that Satoru is done, goes out to her brother. She says something and Satoru throws his head back with a laugh. Megumi has his head in his hands as she smiles sweetly at him. Tsumiki pats his head and speaks to him softly. 

Satoru makes his way back to the engawa and sprawls out in between you and Suguru. 

“He is in deep, it is a little too reflective of how I was.” He says, laying his head on Suguru's lap, “I also told him to tell Yuji about it instead of just assuming he knows how dragons court.”

“It is good that he knows instead of just going ahead.” Suguru says with a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. 

“Has this happened before?” You ask and put down your tea.

“Yes, I made the mistake of not tell the person I was trying to court about my intentions and that led to a misunderstanding.” He explains.

“That explains it then.” You say more to yourself than the two men beside you.

A warm comforting silence drapes over the three of you as you stare out at the kids. You feel comfortable here, a little makeshift family for yourself. It is nice to belong here.

“I will probably head to bed, feel free to make yourselves at home here.” You say and stand up. You stretch your arms and legs after sitting down for so long.

“Sleep well Sweetheart.” Suguru says with a wave. 

“Bye~” Satoru says as you walk back into the house. 

This day has given you a lot to think about. But the biggest thing on your agenda is sleep. And your bed welcomes you with open arms as you sink into it. 

You fall asleep shortly after, your day finally catching up to you.

---*---

Spring has come to the mountain. The snow and ice has defrosted allowing the plants and trees to bloom. Flowers of all kinds and colors have begun to pop up around the mountain. Mammals have come out of their burrows and birds chirp as they make their nests. 

You sit under the large ginkgo tree with Shoko and Utahime by your side. They had come to this mountain in late Autumn and decided to spend the winter with you. They are great company. But a longing pulls at your chest for bright blue eyes and sly smiles.

It was weird and hard to describe what you felt. You have never felt this way before. Beings come and go from the mountain all the time for the first time you want them to come back and stay. Everything leaves you at some point but you don’t want them to go.

“Hey? Are you okay?” Utahime asks, her face slightly scrunched in confusion. 

“Oh! I was just deep in thought.” You explain quickly.

“I am sure those two idiots will be back soon.” Shoko says like she can read your mind.

“But what if-“ You try to counter but the tengu snorts and interrupts you,

“Like I said, those idiots can’t stand to be away from you for too long.” 

“Yeah, Shoko is right they can’t keep away from you too long-“

You stand up abruptly when two familiar energies step foot at the base of the mountain.

“It looks like they are here.” Shoko says with a laugh.

You don’t run down the mountain but you do not walk. It is a weird in between. Shoko and Utahime follow close behind you as you make your way to meet Satoru and Suguru.

They are halfway up the mountain when you reach them. 

The first thing that you notice is how they have grown. You have not seen the two of them since late autumn and they were around an inch or two taller then you at that time. But now they were at least a head taller then you. It was interesting to have to look up at them. 

The second is Satoru’s horns and Suguru’s tails. Satoru’s horns have grown, instead of the small grey ones you knew they are long and have a curl in the middle. Suguru has now increased his tails to nine, they are beautiful how the black fades into a redish color at the tips of them. 

They notice you and walk over with matching grins. 

“Fancy meeting you here!” Satoru says with a lazy grin. 

“Sorry for the delay, Satoru had to fiddle with his yukata for the past hour.” Suguru recounts and Satoru whips his head around to stare at him.

“I did not! You were nervously brushing your hair for two hours this morning!” He shoots back. 

They are about to continue their argument before you start to laugh. It has been months since you have seen them and you missed them, even their bickering. They both look at you in surprise as you laugh. 

“Come here!” You becon them with a smile and open arms. They are quick to comply,  running into your open arms. 

You hug them both tightly and the world feels right again. A long held sigh leaves you as they hold you in their arms. It is a beautiful feeling, very much like a warm spring after a harsh winter. 

Flowers begin to bloom in your heart. 

When the three of you step back Satoru is grinning happily. “I have something for you!”

“Really your presence is more then enough Satoru.” You say.

His eyes widen and a blush dusts his cheeks. He coughs into his hand and continues.

“Thank you but I hope you will accept it.” Satoru says and grabs a package out of his pocket. He slowly uncovers it to reveal a necklace. It is big with many gems of green and gold. 

“Oh my!” You exclaim and examine it. 

As you look at the stones you wonder as to why he would bring you a gift this grand. Maybe he is trying to give you something in return for the energy you have given him. It is not impossible, small animals will bring you trinkets to buy the energy you give freely. 

That must be why.

“I am sorry but I cannot except this. I give out my energy freely and you don’t need to buy it. We are friends and I give it to you without any strings attached.” You explain and push the grand necklace back into his arms.

Satoru looks nothing short of devastated then confused, then devastated again. He goes through many emotions within a minute of time.

“I am not- I just-“ He seems to be confused about your response to his gift. 

“What Satoru means to say is that he wants you to have it as a gift between friends.” Suguru says and you see the sly look in his eyes.

Satoru looks conflicted before sighing, “Yes, that is what I meant.”

Your face brightens as you take the gift from his hands.

“I will treasure it, Satoru.” You promise and he looks a bit better. 

“I have a gift as well.” Suguru interrupts. You turn your attention to him as he gives you a package much smaller then Satoru’s.

You open it slowly. A hair pin, it is thin and on the end is three jade butterflies. The craftsmanship is great and you smile up at him.

“Thank you Suguru.” 

“You are most welcome.” He says and reaches over to pick up the pin, “May I?”

You nod at him and he gathers up a section of hair to pin up. His close proximity makes your breath hitch slightly. He sticks the pin in and steps back to look at you. 

Suguru’s face does something you have never seen before. It is an emotion you are unfamiliar with, his gaze is intense but soft at the same time. It is a contradiction. 

“Beautiful.” Satoru breathes.

“Thank you both.” You says shyness coming out of you at their gazes. 

“Are you two done yet or do we have to look at this display for longer?! I am going to throw up!” Utahime exclaims exasperatedly with her arms crossed.

You snap out of the trance you were in and walk back to the girls. Both Satoru and Sugur trail behind you.

“Utahime! Have you gotten shorter?” Satoru asks with a smirk on his face. 

“Gojo! I will kill you!” She threatens and points a finger up in his face as he leans down. He doesn’t look the least intimidated by the deer spirit’s threat. 

“You know Utahime, I could eat you, us dragons can eat whole elephants ourselves.” He says with a wicked smile. 

“Get him!” She says to you and runs behind Shoko who shields her with one of her wings. Shoko hides a grin behind her hand as well.

You sigh and place a hand on his forearm, “Satoru, we don’t threaten to eat friends.”

He looks at you with a pout, “Just a bite? She started it.”

“There will be no eating friends on the mountain.” You say firmly.

“So off the mountain is fine?” He asks with a grin. 

“You have just lost your spot in my lap.” You say and walk up the path to the ginkgo tree.

“Wait- I didn’t mean it!” He calls after you. 

Suguru walks behind you and passes him with his tongue out. He knows that his spot is secured by Satoru’s own foolishness. The dragon fumes at the fox’s victory.

When the five of you make it back to the tree Shoko and Utahime have decided to go off to have some time alone. When you ask what they are going to do Utahime stutters out a quick reply of nothing before she walks away briskly. 

Satoru sulks on one of the lower branches of the ginkgo tree, coincidentally the same branch that he occupied when you met him for the first time. Suguru on the other hand has his head on your lap as you run your fingers through his hair. It is much longer than before and is healthier. The fox is practically purring in your lap like a house cat. 

After a while you call out to Satoru, “Come here Satoru.”

He leaps down from his branch with a pout. You beckon him closer and grab his hand. Guiding him to sit next to you, you smile gently.

“I am sorry for being harsh with you but you need to not scare friends away.” You explain yourself and intertwine your fingers together.

“I understand. It is difficult to not want to chase people off.” He admits to you.

“What about me and Suguru?” You question him softly.

“That’s different.” He says immediately.

“Alright, I will drop this for now.” You say and lean your head on his shoulder. 

“I will try better for you.” He mutters to you.

“Good boy.” You say and Satoru abruptly stands up.

“I have to go!” He says quickly and practically sprints into the surrounding forest.

Suguru bursts out laughing at his reaction as you sit speechless. You don’t understand what happened, he liked being called that when he was younger. So why is it different now?

Looking down at Suguru he is still laughing in your lap. He is clutching his stomach and he is laughing so hard.You look displeased at his reaction and he stops to catch his breath.

“What is wrong? He liked that when he was younger.” You ask Suguru, who grins up at you.

“He is fine, don’t worry about it. Give him a minute to breathe.” Suguru says and wipes a tear from his eye.

“I just hope he is okay.”

“He is just fine, Sweetheart.”

Chapter Text

You should have enough energy to unseal Shoko and Utahime now.” Suguru says over breakfast. He sips his tea lightly and looks at you over the edge of his mug. 

“Okay, so how do we do that?” You ask and get up to put your plate in the sink.

“It will be the same process as with us but on a smaller scale.” Satoru supplies to the conversation from his spot sprawled out on the couch. 

Over the course of the last five days since they have been unsealed the men have made themselves at home in your house. It has been surprisingly domestic despite the fact that the men in question are a dragon and kitsune respectively. The kids come and go when they want, Megumi goes down to see Yuji often. Yuji has also been invited over for dinner later tonight as well. 

Both Satoru and Suguru have been clingy with you. At first you assumed it was because you were the one who unsealed them but as the days drag on you think it is more than that. They usually watch over you in shifts, if Satoru isn’t there then Suguru is. You didn’t want to explicitly ask them about it but it was interesting to watch them fuss over you. 

Suguru fusses over you, Satoru and his kids in equal measure. It is adorable to watch him mother-hen his kids and make sure that they are taking care of themselves when they are away for a while. He makes you coffee for you in the mornings and tea for himself. Suguru demands that Satoru lay down after he goes out to bolster the wards on the mountain.

Satoru is more physically clingy. At least one part of him needs to be touching your or Suguru or else he gets into a mood. More than once you have caught him in your bed in the mornings. When you wake up to him holding you, you don’t comment because you need the interaction as well.

You really wonder about why they are so clingy. Maybe it was an inhuman thing but the others don’t cling to you this much. Tsumiki, Mimiko and Nanako are affectionate but not to the degree their fathers are. No, the closest thing to how they interact with you is between Megumi and Yuji. But even that is different. So maybe it is a god and shrine keeper thing? 

“Are you alright?” Suguru asks, his sharp eyes searching your face for any sign of injury or illness.

“No! Just deep in thought is all.” You say and rinse off your plate. 

“Do you want to go now?” Satoru asks the two of you from his spot on the couch. 

“Let me get changed and we can start out.” You say and make your way to change out of your pajamas. 

______

All three of you walk down the main path. Satoru leads the way since he is better at sensing where they are. He stops where all the paths converge into one. His eyes look at the path to the left.

“Who do we want to unseal first?” He asks Suguru, who looks contemplative.

“Shoko would be best. Utahime will scold us as soon as she gains consciousness and we need Shoko to look at them.” He says and refers to you for the last bit.

Satoru nods and begins to clear the left path. It is overgrown with weeds about waist height. You follow Satoru and watch your step as he leads you down the path. You are pleased that you don’t fall at all during the walk. The forest has reclaimed the walkway, you duck around low hanging branches and step over high roots.

Eventually the dense forest gives way to a small clearing. The grass is still high and trees line it. All the way to the back of the clearing are two statues. Both of them are overgrown with vines and flowers.

One is of a large crow, it’s onyx wings are caught mid-flight. The other is of a deer, it stares out at the three of you. It’s grand antlers have moss and plants growing on them. 

“This is it.” Suguru says and walks closer to the statue of the crow, “you remember what to do?”

You nod and walk over. It’s eyes feel like they are on you as you reach out a hand to touch its right wing. You meet the same resistance as before but it doesn’t last long. Your hand meets cold stone and the space between them tingles. Spiritual energy flows out of you and into the statue. It soaks up the energy you give it and you feel the dam open up a little wider so it can take more from you. 

The mountain doesn’t shake but you feel a slight tremor in the surrounding trees. The birds in the clearing take off as the statue shines. You draw your hand back to watch as it ripples once, twice, then the crow shakes its wings. 

“Shoko!” Satoru says cheerfully as the crow shifts into a woman with long brown hair and a gray yukata on. 

“It took you two long enough.” She responds to the two of them wholly unimpressed with them. Her eyes widen when they land on you. A silent conversation you are not privy to happens between the three of them. 

“Hello,” She addresses you after their conversation, “I am Ieri Shoko, it is nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you!” You introduce yourself to the woman and she smiles warmly at you.

“Alright let’s get this over with!” Satoru says nonchalantly. Shoko rolls her eyes at him as you put your hand on the statue of the deer.

This time it is harder. It is more draining and you feel a little dizzy at the energy it takes from you. Your hand hurts a little as you feel the seal break under your hand. 

The deer comes to life and steps down from its spot. It shakes it’s antlers and the moss and vines come off.

“My antlers!” The newcomer says incredulously and touches her antlers. She rips off the vines on her antlers with a displeased expression.

Shoko walks over and pulls the woman into a hug. The woman immediately melts into her touch. It is a beautiful gesture. Utahime, you assume, has tears in the corner of her eyes as Shoko whispers something in her ear. She laughs softly at Shoko’s words.

Satoru, done with their display, makes a loud gagging noise and Utahime’s attention turns on him.

“You ass!” She says and stomps over to him. 

The dragon only smirks as she points a finger up at him. His blue eyes sparkle as she begins to scold him for taking too long to unseal him. You want to step in but this seems to be the normal for the two of them so you leave it.  

“Suguru-“ You mutter, your headache coming back in full force. 

He walks over and helps you to steady yourself. “You did wonderful Sweetheart.”

“I need to go lay down, I think.” You mumble as your eyes droup. 

Suguru lifts you into his arms and starts back down the path to the house. Satoru is close behind the two of you, Utahime long forgotten as he walks beside you. The two women follow the three of you up the path. You hear them having a quiet discussion about something. 

***

Suguru sets you down gently on the bed. When his arms move to leave you, you groggily mutter out your protest. He smiles as you cling to the front of his robes tightly. Usually you are the one who comforts the two of them so he is happy to be the warm embrace you need at this time. 

He climbs into the bed next to you. You are quick to cuddle up to him in your sleepy state. It is not long before your breath evens out and your eyes shut. 

Humans are so fragile. They need so many things to function and thrive. At one point in time he didn’t like humans. They were cruel to him and others like him. But you were the one who gave him a different outlook on them. Your gentle chiding when he would voice his displeasure. 

God, he missed you. 

Suguru kisses the top of your head. You mutter something incoherent and he wonders what you are dreaming about. 

“I need to see them to examine them, Suguru.” Shoko says with a hint of annoyance in her tone.

He didn’t even remember covering you with his tails. But lowers them so Shoko can see you. His instincts whisper to him to not let her near you in your weakened state but he knows that you need to be checked out. 

She gently grabs your wrist to check your energy and vitals. Suguru watches her face as she looks. A look of confusion washes over her face then understanding directly after it. 

“They are clever, I will give them that. But it will be hard to get them back in their current state.” She explains and retracts her hand. 

“How so?” He asks.

“The block on their energy and soul is not Kenjaku’s doing; it is theirs.”

Chapter Text

You are surrounded by two warm bodies. One is behind you and one in front of you. Arms lay across you and hold you close. They breathe out of tune with one another but it is a beautiful symphony to your ears. It brings you comfort. It soothes the icy loneliness that is in your very bones.

It is not normal to be so comfortable with beings you have only known a few days but that doesn’t stop your mind going quiet in their presence. Your chest heaves a sigh of contentment as you try to get back to sleep. But it seems like sleep evades your advances.

So instead of chasing after sleep you flutter open your eyes. 

Suguru's face is close to yours. His eyes are shut and his eyelashes move every so often in his sleep. Soft snores leave his slightly parted lips. Your eyes trace faint freckles on his nose and cheeks, if you weren’t this close you would never have noticed it. 

Shifting your gaze over, you hold back a laugh at the wall of fur that separates you from the rest of the room. You really wonder what that means, maybe there are books on kitsune online. That is a thought for later though. 

The door creaks open and you hear a disgruntled noise before the lights are flipped on.

“What are the two of you doing in their bed?” Utahime’s voice scolds the two men. 

Satoru groans from behind you and lifts his head to look at her, “It’s nap time Utahime. Let us sleep.”

“Did you even ask before slithering into that bed you overgrown lizard?” She says.

You move one of the tails and poke your head out. She has an irritated expression that seems to always be on her face when Satoru and Suguru are involved. Her arms are crossed and she taps her foot expectantly on the floor. Utahime's expression softens slightly at the sight of you.

“They are fine!” You assure her with a smile, “I really don’t mind, it is actually really nice and warm.”

Utahime blinks in surprise at your admission. Her mouth opens, then shuts, then opens again. 

“I am sorry for overstepping.” She apologizes to you but you wave her off.

“It’s really fine, I was done napping anyway.” 

“You could sleep more if you want. It has only been a few hours since you helped them.” Suguru says, concern evident in his tone.

“No,” You look down at him, “I feel better and I need to make dinner anyway.”

“We can do that.” Satoru says and wraps his arms around your waist.

Surprisingly your voice doesn’t sound squeak as you respond, “Do any of you know how to use modern appliances?”

“Fair enough.” You can practically hear the pout in his voice.

“Alright, let’s get up.” 

***

Suguru watches on in fond amusement as you shoo Satoru out of the kitchen. You point your ladle in his face as he tries for the fifth time to taste the broth for the soba noodles. So far he has been successful at stealing the food you are trying to cook twice. Suguru is surprised that you haven’t kicked him out of the kitchen yet with his behavior.

Shoko, Utahime and the girls are trying to find a movie to watch. It was a fascinating idea to think about a story that can be recorded and then played on command. You have tried your best to explain how everything works but it will take all of them a while to adjust to this era’s technology. His eyes flit over to Megumi who simultaneously looks nervously at the door and looks over at Satoru with exasperation. 

Megumi has been waiting for- he thinks his name is Yuji- the boy that you invited over for dinner. Suguru doesn’t know if he should attempt to comfort him or leave him be. Emotions have never been an easy thing for Suguru. But if his son's pacing gets worse he will check on him.

Distant yelling makes his left ear twitch in the direction of the noise. Megumi goes to the door and watches it intently. Suguru also gets up and makes his way over just in case of an emergency. Just down the path he sees three figures.

One he makes out to be Yuji, his bright pink hair is quite hard to miss. The other two it takes him longer to see. His eyes see one has horns, and the other wings. It must be Maki and Nobara then.

Shoko had taken an injured Tengu left behind by her family a few years after she settled down on the mountain. Maki had been skittish to say the least when they first met her. She was terrified of any movement and for the first few months only really responded to you and Shoko. But when Suguru let slip about his own childhood she had found a kindred spirit with him. 

Nobara was a new deer spirit who had found the mountain by chance and decided to stay. She looked up to Utahime and she became somewhat of a student to her. Her fiery temperament was a testament to how she looked up to her. Nobara had latched onto Maki, no matter how cold the Tengu had acted towards her at first.

He is glad to see that they are alright.

Nobara seems to be arguing with Yuji about something but his ears can’t decipher it. He doesn’t look uncomfortable about it, he seems to be taking this change in stride. Suguru is pleased with that because it would have been harder to deal with him if the boy was scared of them and not fascinated.

Megumi is walking over to meet them swiftly and Suguru laughs quietly at his son’s new found clinginess.

“What are you laughing at?” Satoru’s voice says as his head comes to rest on his shoulder. They both look out at Megumi guiding Yuji away from the two girls, his face the picture of displeasure.

“Our son and his new found need to cling to the boy.” 

“Yuji seems like a good kid though, I hope he does stay.” Satoru admits.

“I agree with that. He will be a wonderful addition to our family, he has already gotten their approval.” Suguru says a soft smile gracing his features.

Satoru laughs and lifts his head up, “He has certainly made his way into our home and in record time no less. For Inumaki it took months for you to warm up to him.”

Suguru makes a noise of displeasure at the mention of that boy. He knows that Mimiko can make her own decisions but a part of him will always see her as his little girl. She has always been the quietest of his children but also the most attached to him. When she was born she was too small, he had always had a deep set fear of losing her. But she had survived it and was stronger for it. He remembers when she was a toddler and could barely walk she still tittered after him to the best of her ability. 

Mimiko undoubtedly took after him the most out of all of their children.

“I assume that he will make an appearance soon since Nobara and Maki are back.” Suguru states, trying to sound impartial but Satoru sees right through and laughs at him.

***

Dinner is a loud and chaotic affair.

With two newcomers it brings the number of people up to 12. You are sure that this house hasn’t seen this many for a long time. It brings you joy to see everyone interacting with each other. A hole in your heart seems to fill as you gaze out at the crowded living room. 

Halfway through dinner Shoko calls Suguru and Satoru out to talk. You don’t want to get into private conversations but you are curious about what they need to talk about privately. You think back to their insistence on having Shoko check you out so maybe it was that? You don’t know for sure so you will leave it alone for now. 

When they come back their faces are gloomy. Shoko looks angry but is holding it in. It only increases the amount of questions that swirl in your head. But you don’t acknowledge it now, dinner is supposed to be a happy thing. 

Everyone finishes the food and you have leftovers for tomorrow. You are glad that you made so much. Maybe you will have to get used to making big meals like this more often. Having a big family sounds nice. 

You are an only child and your parents were always busy with work so you were left on your own a lot. It wasn’t that you weren’t loved but that you were just alone. Friends never really stayed with you but maybe that is going to change. 

Maybe this time you will be able to hang onto these people that you are beginning to care deeply for.

Chapter Text

The sun hangs low, almost below the tops of the trees, as Megumi begins to walk Yuji down the path. You watch with a smile as they go. Yuji is talking animatedly with his hands in the air as Megumi just watches him.

It is rather adorable.

As their figures fade you turn back to the kitchen. The sink is full of dishes and you sigh at the work ahead of you. But it is a small price to pay for an evening with… family, that is a good word for this group of people who have made a space in your life.

Soft snores can be heard from the couch and you walk over cautiously as not to wake the people on the couch. You grin as you see both Suguru and Satoru passed out on the couch. They are intertwined together perfectly as if they were meant to always be that way. And you sure that they were.

You grab a blanket and gently lay it over them. That familiar longing pulls at your chest but you push it away. As much as you want to join the cuddle pile on the couch you have to clean the kitchen.

Humming softly to a long forgotten song you wash the dishes. The rhythm of Satoru’s sighs and Suguru’s snoring soothes any doubt of loneliness that may creep into your head. Once the dishes are washed and dried you sigh in relief and walk back over to the couch.

You know you shouldn’t watch but you can’t help it. There is something that draws you to their side. Your eyes want to keep them in your sight, your hands wish to hold them to you and never let go. It is a feeling both light and bone crushing at the same time.

Brushing Suguru’s hair out of his face and running your hand down Satoru’s face you realize this feeling. You want to deny the feeling that blooms in your chest, but you can’t deny the flowers blooming in your heart. Your selfish heart has come to love them. It is like the romance stories you have read in the past. But you know that those stories either end happily or in tragedy, you wonder which way this one with end.

A panicked shout breaks the silence of your feelings.

“DAD!” Megumi’s frantic voice yells as he and Yuji run up the path. They look spooked.

Satoru and Suguru’s eyes open immediately when they hear Megumi’s voice. Satoru is the first up and out the door towards his voice. Suguru is on his heels accompanied by you. 

“We can’t leave-“ he says but it is cut off by Satoru’s voice.

“Get inside. Now.” Satoru says in the most serious tone you have ever heard from him. 

Megumi just nods and rushes Yuji inside. His face is full of concern as he walks past you into the house. You look back in concern but your head snaps back to Satoru as he speaks again.

“I will check the wards and see if he might have triggered them.” Satoru says as Suguru nods and ushers you back into the house despite your protests.

“What is going on?” You ask as you struggle against Suguru’s gentle yet firm grip on your arm. “Why can’t they leave.”

Suguru looks around at both Megumi and Yuji, who look confused and scared. He sighs and looks back at you.

“When we first were unsealed we put wards in place to keep certain entities out. If they are triggered it also triggers a wall to keep them out. But the problem with this is that it also keeps us in.” He explains as his eyes look between you and the door in a frantic manner. 

“So we are stuck here?” Yuji asks with his face scrunched a bit in confusion.

“Until the threat leaves we are stuck in here.” Megumi says more to himself than Yuji.

An uneasy silence blankets the room as the four of you worry. Suguru begins to pace near the door nervously awaiting Satoru and his news. You worry your lip in between your teeth as you try not to panic. This had crossed your mind but both Satoru and Suguru had reassured you that they would be prepared for something like this. 

So all you can do is trust them.

Yuji and Megumi are mostly quiet. Yuji texts his Grandfather letting him know that he is staying at a friend’s place for a few days. Megumi looks nervous, his leg bounces up and down as he stares at the wall in front of him.

There is a commotion outside and Satoru, Shoko and Utahime walk through the door. Shoko and Utahime are out of breath as they enter the door. Shoko’s normally calm expression has changed to one of fear. Utahime clutches her hand like a lifeline.

Satoru is a different story, he looks furious. You can feel the swelling rage that comes off of him in waves. It almost scares you, the anger that could turn violent. 

You know he would never hurt you. 

Your head throbs. It feels as if someone is shoving an ice pick through your right eye. Squeezing your eyes shut you try to get her head to stop but the throbbing grows more insistent. 

“We can’t-“

“Nanami is-“

“They aren’t in a good state-“

Shoko, Satoru and Suguru seem to be having a three way argument about what to do. 

You can barely hear them over the ringing in your ears and the thrum of pain in your head. Black spots dance across your vision as you try to get up to get pain medicine. As you try your legs give out under you. Someone is there to catch you as you try to get to the medication.

“What’s wrong?” Utahime asks, concern in her voice as she helps you over to the medicine cabinet.

“I-“ You hunch over as the pain hurts worse with the bright light of the bathroom, “don’t know- it hurts so bad! It feels like my skull is- being ripped open.”

Your vision goes black as you reach for the medicine. You barely miss the shelf with the pain medicine and push the medication on the shelf under the one you were reaching for on to the floor. The various medications and vitamins fall to the floor, making a loud commotion. Utahime, who you can’t really see but can hear, gasps as they clatter to the ground.

It seems to let up a moment and you reach for the medicine again. But your legs give out and you slump into Utahime. You feel your body lose its strength, like a doll limp and thrown to the floor. With a cut off gasp you try to hold off the black at the edges of your vision and you are pulled from your consciousness.

___*___

You lerch up with a gasp to look around at the vacant space around you. It is nothing like the dreams with Suguru and Satoru, no this place is bright white and empty. A blank space that seems to go on for miles.

“Well, it looks like you are finally here.” An unfamiliar female voice says from behind you.

Quickly you get up to look at her. She smiles pleasantly at you, wrinkles forming at the crease of her brown eyes. The woman is dressed in modern clothing, unlike the others who you have seen in dreams.

“Who are you?” You ask defensively.

She blinks at you, “I am hurt that you don’t remember me but a new body does make it hard to reminisce with old friends.”

She frowns and looks down at her body. Is she implying that she can move bodies? This is new. You were not told about anyone who could do that. 

“New body?” 

“Yes,” She says, “I have changed bodies many times over the years but this is by far my favorite. Too bad I had to kill her husband, he was rather good looking.”

You gape at her as she looks genuinely upset about killing him not for the fact that he died but that he was handsome. You need to get out of here. The only problem is that you can’t see a way out of here.

“What do you want from me?” You say, recoiling as she walks close to you.

She runs a finger down your cheek with a far away look in her eyes.

“This body is nice but not as good as your previous one.” She runs her finger down you neck and it stops at the center of your chest. “But the important part is still in you.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” You smack her hand away and back up from her reach as she looks confused. Her brows scrunching together as she tries to work something out in her mind.

But her confusion is quickly resolved and a wide grin takes over her face. It isn’t the type of grin that puts you at easy. No, it is impossibly wide for a human. Something about it makes you want to throw up. You look at her closer and you see small inhuman traits. The large canine teeth that make her grin more unsettling. Her pupils change into slits as they sparkle with amusement.

“They didn’t tell you !” She says with a cackle, “This is just too good !”

The hair on the back of your neck stands up as she laughs. 

“Don’t worry Sweetheart,” She says in a mocking tone, “I will tell you what they have so kindly left out.”

“What do you mean?” 

“Haven’t you noticed that their story doesn’t fully make sense? If they were gods, how were they sealed by a yokai? To gods, the powers of Yokai aren’t any match to theirs, unless certain conditions are met. And how would you,” she gestures at you with a finger, “a supposed random human be able to unseal them?”

You take that in, it does make some sense. 

“So that does beg two questions; one, are they really gods? And two, what are you?” She finishes with her hands up.

“You know, don’t you?” You ask hesitantly.

“Of course I know. So does everyone else in that house. They didn’t want to tell you the truth but out of the kindness of my heart I will tell you.” She says, fake kindness dripping from her voice and a hand on her chest.

“You are the god of this mountain.”

Chapter Text

“That’s not true.” You say with conviction. 

That doesn’t make any sense. 

You are human. 

You bleed and can feel pain. Gods in most myths don't bleed and if they do it is not blood. Sometimes gods can be hurt but it can never kill them.  

The woman gives you a look close to pity, “You really have deluded yourself into thinking that haven’t you?”

“If I was a god there would be signs.” You state.

“But you and I know that there have been.” She says, “You are just too blind to see them. And your incarnation has helped to keep it under lock and key for 25 years.”

Your brows furrow in thought. You look through each and every memory you have on this mountain. Nothing is out of the ordinary. It is all perfectly normal. 

“The torii gates.” She says.

“My hands must have been asleep.” You counter her claim.

“The pathways part for you.” 

“The lawyer must have had someone open the path.” You shake your head at her.

“The garden.”

Your eyes snap up to hers with a look of pure confusion.

“She never had a garden.” 

“Not after you killed it.” She smiles, her feline eyes sparkling with amusement.

“No- I never killed a garden.” You say.

“You just don’t remember it. But the being in your chest does. It gave you the power to do that.” She says and points at your chest again. “Think back, it's there if you look.”

Relenting you shift back through memory after memory until your brain snags on something. It is not a complete memory, just a single image of a dead rose garden behind the house and your hands in the dirt. The dirt cakes under your nails as you try to uproot a rose to take home with you. Then the image glitches and the roses are dead.

You look at the woman, confused and a fear growing in your chest.

"You saw it." She says, like it is the simplest thing in the world and not earth shattering for you.

"That has to be fake or I am remembering it wrong." You shake your head and she sighs at you.

"I can't get into your mind so, who would have done it?" She crosses her arms and steps back from you.

"I don't- it can't be like that-" You stutter, your conviction slipping slowly through your fingers.

"Oh but it is, that is the sad part." Her voice carries a small note of sympathy, "They have doomed you to this, to slowly die."

"What?" You ask frantically.

"Magic isn't meant for humans. It is incompatible with your biology, it will slowly kill you. Your body isn't meant to house magic so the more you use it the more you body begins to shut down." She explains, "You were fine for the first use, the sliver of their soul absorbed the magic used and the impact of using it. Now the more you use it the more your organs will begin to shut down."

“They would not lie to me,” Your voice increasing in volume, “if I was- dying they would tell me!”

“Would they? You have known them less than a week.”

“But- they aren’t like that! They are kind and-“ You feel tears prick at the corners of your eyes.

She moves towards you in one smooth motion, “They are using you, they don’t what you , they want the scrap of them in your chest.”

“Who is-“

“Your incarnation, the old god of this mountain. The one they fell in love with.” 

No. It can be true. After all this time of barely being able to keep people in your life, you had finally found people wanted you. Looking down at your clenched fists you feel the first tear spill over. They run down your face, burning your eyes and leaving hot tear stains in their wake. God, you feel pathetic.

“They aren’t- they can’t be that way!” Your voice cries out in between hiccups. 

“Here, let me help you remember your past life.” She offers, her voice honey sweet and she cradles your face in her hands. You feel warmth at the places she is touching, like fire under your skin. 

In an instant you aren’t in that space anymore.

———*———

The first thing you feel is agony. Pure pain. It is worse then burning up or a million swords being stabbed through you. It hurts so bad that you just want someone to-

“-kill me!” Your voice is hoarse with disuse as you scream at someone to end your suffering.

You crack open your eyes to see bright blue eyes on the verge of tears. Satoru cradles your head in his lap as he holds you down. If he let you go you would try to end your own suffering. Dark circles are under his eyes. He looks so tired.

“I can’t! You know that.” He answers in a pleading tone. 

“It hurts! I can’t take it anymore!” You grip onto his hand so hard your knuckles are white. 

“Suguru is trying to find something to help! Please just hang on.” Satoru says and holds you closer, trying to ground you to the living world. The both of you know that you are near the end of your life. 

As a god you had never feared death. It had been out of the realm of possibility for you but death is painful. It is both burning hot and freezing cold at the same time, you feel like a walking contradiction. You now understand the burden of dying stars, the pain of collapsing in on yourself is pain unlike anything you have ever felt.

But you won’t be a supernova after you die, that is the end. Gods don’t reincarnate. Only on rare occasions have you heard legends of it. Once you die, that is it, no one can cheat death.

A new person enters the room. You can barely see them but once you sense their energy your remaining instincts tell you to run. Your fight or flight instincts want to kick in but your body is in too much pain to move. You don’t know what they are but they are going to hurt you. It is in their intention.

“I must examine them alone.” The male voice says in a cold and detached tone.

Satoru leaves you as your reach for him. You just miss the edge of his sleeve, a last ditch effort for him to stay. A silent plea to not leave you. But he just smiles down at you sadly and leaves.

Footsteps approach slowly, like the person is scared of you seeing them.

“Don’t touch me.” You growl but it is barely audible.

He enters your limited view, a small smile on his face. Long black hair loose on his shoulders and a grey yukata on his body. Your mind screams that something is wrong with him. Something is very wrong. His soul doesn’t match his body.

“How rude,” He says with a chuckle, “I am here to help you.”

“No, you aren’t.” You counter and struggle to sit up. It feels pathetic to be this weak that it takes you so long to sit up.

“You are smart. But I expected that.” He says and crouches down to be at eye level with you. “That’s why I have to poison you first.”

So he did this. You had suspected that someone would go after the ginkgo tree to weaken you, as it was your anchor to the mortal world. You just never expected it to hurt this bad.

You take a heaving breath as you finally sit up and glare at him. He just smiles menacingly at you. 

“What are you?” You ask and his smile stretches inhumanly wide.

“A bakeneko,” He answers and you see him through his skin then. The two tails he keeps hidden in his body. 

“So what?” You spit, “You have come to steal my body?”

His smile drops, he sighs and stands back up. 

“How mean of you to accuse me of that,” He walks around the room as he explains, “I want the energy that you have, but if worse comes to worse,” He stops and looks at you, his feline eyes sharp. “I would not be opposed to that.”

“So it is an ultimatum then.” You grab the end of the table to pull yourself up to your feet. “You should already know my answer.”

You will your legs to get up. It is a slow process as you pull yourself up to your feet. As you look the man in the eye he looks almost scared of you. His eyes look for each exit. He keeps it under wraps, not wanting to let you see he is scared.

A god, even a weaken one, is still a dangerous being.

“You are too weak to even be able to reason with me.” He says, crossing his arms. “You are almost human, a well placed sword could kill you!”

An idea comes to your mind, a last ditch effort. It is a truly insane idea but it just might work. You look around and see the pair of katanas that Satoru’s parents had gifted him for his birthday. They were never really used at all. With a glint of pure insanity in your eye you reach for the sword. 

“You are right, a sword could kill me,” You agree and unsheathe the sword.

“But-” You raise the sword so it is pointing at your throat, “that would set back your plan!”

You smile wide and shove the blade into your neck and it pierces all the way through your throat. Blood spurts out of your gash as you twist it. Heaving you pull it out as the blood flows out of your neck like a waterfall. A trail of blood even trickles out of your smiling lips.

The Bakeneko looks at you in shock. 

This pain is nothing compared to what you have endured over the past few months. This is light and freeing. You plunge the blade into your chest with a bloody smile, relishing in the numbness in death. 

“No!” He rushes to pull the blade from your chest but it is too late. You are leaving your body. 

In your last moments you just want Suguru, Satoru and the kids to forgive you. They might not understand why you did this but you hope that when the time comes, you will see them again. As your soul begins to shatter, you split off a piece and force it into the reincarnation cycle. To your surprise the universe doesn't reject it, no it attaches it to a nearby soul and it is picked up by the rushing current of souls, drifting from your view. 

One day, maybe not now, you will be back to see your lovers and children again.