✧.* 𝒀𝒐𝒌𝒂𝒊 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒀𝒂𝒌𝒔𝒉𝒂 ᵍᵉⁿˢʰⁱⁿ

i. with lightning comes a truce.

Thump.

You felt the rough bark against your back before you even realized you'd fallen against a tree. Your eyes closed for a second as you relaxed yourself before opening them again, taking in your surroundings.

It was midday, if the position of the sun was any indication. You were pretty high up somewhere, and from here you could see the harbor you were trying to get to. There were unfamiliar white flowers littered around you, you would've picked some if you had the energy.

Most of all, you heard silence. You were always very aware of noises, your ears being better than that of humans, so you expected to hear great sounds everywhere you traveled. But here, in these beautifully unfamiliar, tranquil mountains, the only noise you could hear was the gentle humming of the wind as it flew past your figure and the sound of your own thoughts.

This serenity, so strange but so welcomed, didn't last for long. It never did. You could hear the way the winds changed, the tender hugs of breeze becoming, for only a second, waves of violent wind. And you could hear someone, too. Right in front of you, where nobody had stood prior.

You opened your eyes again, though you didn't remember closing them, and were faced with the edge of a spear. The spear was a brilliant emerald color. It shone like it'd never seen bloodshed. Your eyes trailed upwards, to the hands—rough looking and scarred by time—to the arms, and they landed on the face.

It was youthful, and held malice that you recognized all too familiarly. He had dark hair with lighter teal streaks. His eyes, so blank, were a rare gold. He had some sort of diamond imprinted on his forehead. You could only wonder what it meant.

The boy said nothing to you, so you took it upon yourself to initiate interaction.

"Can I help you?"

You did your best to sound normal, to not let the strain seep in. But even with your centuries of experience, you could not mask your exhaustion. You'd traveled for so long. Why wouldn't this boy let you rest, even if only for an hour?

"I'm unaware," he started. His voice was rough, as if his words were choked in his throat and he'd untangled a web of misery to get them out, "of how you managed to stay hidden for so long. But you've only made my job easier, demon."

You tilted your head. The people you served were quick to call the yokai of less benevolence, "demons." You've heard the venomous title be thrown at the Oni and the Tengu, but nobody would dare to hurl that word at you. You sighed. "I'm sorry, there must be a misunderstanding."

He raised his spear to his right side, at the same height as your head. "Don't play stupid." He swung, that beautifully jaded spear coming full force at your neck. And then, ever quickly did it happen, it was hot. Hot and bright. And the spear never made contact with you.

You could hear it clatter on the ground, each bit of contact it made ringing out in your ears. And you could hear the boy, raspy as ever, cry out in pain. His hair stuck up in all sorts of direction, and there was a newly placed burn mark on his right arm. It was then that you realized just what had transpired.

He had been struck by lightning.

You look up towards the sky, your mouth slightly agape. There wasn't a thunder cloud in the sky. Moreover, there wasn't a scratch on you, despite you and the boy being so close. You let a smile creep onto your face as you stood. "I didn't think she still cared about me..."

You took a step forward so you were, wobbly as you were, standing over your assailant. "As I was about to say, I think there's been some sort of misunderstanding. I am no demon."

"Then why—" he paused, and you could sense that he was trying to speak through the burning pain. "... you feel like one."

You hummed in thought, kneeling down next to him and taking his arm. He ripped it away from you. "Don't touch me."

"Sorry. The demons you know have been eradicated a long time ago, haven't they?" You asked, standing back up straight. "Perhaps the yokai of Inazuma feel similarly enough that, in your unfamiliarity, you can mistake us for demons."

"Yokai?" The word was rough on his tongue, as if he didn't actually believe anything you were saying.

"We are creatures of Inazuma. Some of us take the forms of ogres or animals, but none of us are monsters by nature."

"... I see."

"Now that that's cleared up, you owe me," you said, your hands on your hips.

"What?"

"You owe me. You tried to strike me, so now you have to make it up to me."

"What, do you want to strike me in return? I've already been struck by lightning, what else do you want?"

Your eyes went wide, your face getting all hot at the suggestion. "Of course not! I'm a Kirin, we don't hurt people like that!"

"I thought you were a Yokai."

"I—" you sucked on your teeth, your face relaxing as you calmed yourself down. It was never any good when you got all frustrated. "Yokai is a catch-all term for the mythological creatures of Inazuma. There are many species of Yokai, and the Kirin is just one of them."

"I do not follow."

"Um... jeez, okay. Like, dogs? There are shibas and huskies and all sorts of breeds. And while all shibas are dogs, not all dogs are shibas. You get it?"

"Hm. Okay." The boy had looked away from you as if you no longer interested him.

"Good, so now you—" you cut yourself off as you stumbled a bit, holding your arms out to steady yourself. The boy looked back up at you.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked, brows furrowed.

You smiled gently, shaking your head as if to say, "everything is fine."

You watched as his eyes looked over you, perhaps now noticing your current state. You hadn't looked at yourself in a few days, but you were probably all dirty from the excruciating traveling you'd done. You had sustained some sort of injury atop your head that went untreated, so you could imagine that blood had dried up there.

"What happened to you?" The boy asks, standing up himself.

You shrugged, laughing to yourself a little with a silly grin on your face. "Tough trip, I suppose."

"Come here."

The command was curt, and slightly agitated. Surely he wasn't annoyed at your dismissal of your injuries, right? That'd be silly, wouldn't it?

"Huh?"

"You said I had to make things up to you, right?"

"Oh."

Seeing as you weren't moving, he scoffed and approached you instead. He grabbed you by the arm, and with another violent gust of wind, you both were gone.