The Ereri Project!

Bamboo (Fairy Tale)

A/N: The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. This is originally a Japanese story so imagine everyone dressed all traditionally Japanese!

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One day, while walking through the bamboo forest, a young bamboo cutter named Levi spotted a bamboo stalk that had a mysterious, ethereal glow to it. When he split it open, inside he found a beautiful infant no bigger than his thumb.

Happily he took him home to raise with his best friend, Hanji, another bamboo cutter who dressed as a man to avoid marriage. They named the child Eren and from that day on, when either of them cut into a stalk of bamboo, they would find a gold nugget inside. They soon became rich.

Swiftly the child grew into an ordinary-sized young man with extraordinary beauty. Levi the bamboo cutter soon feel in love with him, but as his father figure he thought it improper and ignored his feelings.

However, that did not stop him and Hanji from keeping Eren hidden from as many people as possible. His beauty was too great, they feared someone would steal him away from them.

Word spread despite their care and five men came to ask Levi and Hanji for Eren's hand. Eren, headstrong as he always way, barely cast any of them a glance as he said, "Come back tomorrow and I will give you tasks to prove your worth to me."

Levi did not know what sort of tasks Eren had in mind, but all five men looked incredibly capable so he worried. Levi welcomed the men back the following day and Eren, just as uncaring as he had been the day before orders each of them to bring him something.

"The eldest of you will bring me the stone begging bowl of Buddha from India. The next will bring me a jeweled spring from the island Horai. The next will bring me the legendary robe of the fire-rat from China. The next will bring me a colored jewel from a dragon's neck. And the youngest of you will bring me the cowrie born from swallows."

Levi nearly wanted to laugh at the expressions on the men's face. Eren walked away dismissively after that. When the men finally left, Eren returned to Levi's side. "You know," he said, holding Levi's arm as he had most of his childhood. "The only man I'm interested in having court me is you."

Days later, the eldest man returned with an expensive looking bowl. When Eren saw that it did not glow with holy light, he threw it, shattering it, and dismissed the first man.

The next two similarly tried to deceive him but Eren saw through both of them as well. The fourth man simply gave up after encountering a storm and the last died in his attempt at retrieving his assigned item.

Eren did not care for any of these men, the tasks were impossible for a reason. He only had eyes for his surrogate father, who seemed to warming up to the idea.

Soon after the youngest man died, the Emperor of Japan, Mikado, came to see the mysteriously beautiful Eren and, upon falling in love himself, asked him for marriage. Eren refused, of course, without even giving him an impossible task like the others. The emperor stayed in contact with him, but Eren would never agree to his many proposals.

Levi had finally given in, after all.

All through the spring, Eren took any chance he could to be with his lover; kissing him any time they passed one another, holding hands while they walked together, making love under the moon which he was beginning to feel a strange attachment to.

When summer began, he spent every night watching the moon and crying. Levi didn't know what to do for him but hold him and hope it would pass.

Eren grew distant then, refusing to tell him or Hanji what was wrong until one night he didn't sleep at all.

In the morning he told them, "I must return to my people on the moon. I was sent here for safety while a war was being fought in my home and now it's over so I have to go back."

"How long have you known this?" Levi asked.

"Since summer began," Eren replied. "I wanted to stay here a little longer but they're calling to me and it's breaking my heart."

Hanji shook her head, the gold had been a gift from his home in return for keeping their prince safe. She did not wish to see the closest thing she'd ever have to a son leave her, but it hurt even more to see him so sad.

"Then you must go," she said.

Levi gave her a look like she was crazy. "He can't go!"

Eren frowned and took Levi's hand. "I love you," he said. "But my people need me more than I want to be here and you know that's a lot."

Levi pulled Eren into his arms, giving no response because all he wanted to say was, "Please don't leave me."

When news reached the emperor, he sent guards to protect Eren from the Moon people. Hanji did her best to distract them while Levi took Eren into the bamboo forest where he'd found him as a baby.

Heavenly Beings were already waiting in the forest to take Eren home.

Eren cried as he gave Levi all the things he was leaving behind; letters to him, Hanji, and the emperor and the robe he always wore.

He gave Levi one last kiss before a Heavenly Being placed a feathered robe on him. All his sadness and compassion for the people of Earth was forgotten in an instant, though Levi could not see this as he cried into Eren's former robe.

Eren was escorted back to the moon while Levi cried where he last stood. Eren could not remember why he himself was crying, but he ignored it as he was finally returning home.