❛ Dango ❜ | Haganezuka Hotaru x Reader

【壹】

"What do you want?"

Those were the first words that he spoke to you, not even bothering to take a look at the person who had just entered his workshop. He was working on fixing a broken knife, and the annoyance in his voice was way too obvious not to be heard.

"What a temper..." you thought to yourself as you tried to get a better look at the man that you were speaking to, but he had his back facing you and was so fixated on the blade he was working on that you couldn't see any of his features besides from the long, wavy hair that fell down onto his shoulders and back.

— · —

You and your mother owned a renowned dango shop in the city. Every now and then, you would see a grumpy man wearing a hyottoko mask and flower wind chimes attached to his hat come to the dango stand, requesting to buy a few of your rice cake skewers. He would point at the freshly-prepared dango and place the coins onto the counter to let you know what he wanted before leaving hurriedly with the treat in his hands, although looking somewhat happier than he did coming in. Seeing someone who wore the mask just like your father did when you were small brought you a sense of nostalgia, and you would always look forward to the next time that this customer would come visit again.

Your father, who was a swordsmith, used to wear a hyottoko mask just like him, which is why you assumed that he must be from the village too. However, after the death of your father when you were still a child, you and your mother had to move to the town to try to make a living. Your mother opened a dango shop there and, ever since then, you've been making and selling those rice cakes which slowly began to rise in popularity among the citizens.

Once a year you would come back to the village with your mother to visit your father's grave, and this was your first time going there by yourself. The villagers had all moved out a while ago after a demon attack which left half of the village in shambles, so you weren't expecting to see anyone around, but it seemed that luck was on your side this evening.

— · —

"What is it?" he complained as he kept on polishing the blade, his eyes never moving away from it even for a millisecond. "If you have a question, ask. Don't make me waste my time."

"Good evening..." you bowed to greet him, even though you doubted that he'd even notice. "I'm so sorry to bother. I lost my way in the woods and ended up here... The sun is about to set soon, too, so I was wondering if I could... Perhaps stay here for the night...? Or, if it's not too far away, maybe you could show me the way to the vill-"

The man suddenly stopped polishing the blade that he was working on, making it fall onto the floor with a clanking sound. You were startled by the noise. He did not say anything but the silence gave you the impression that he was mad.

"I- Sorry for the bother... I was too inconsiderate. Please forgive me." you apologized, feeling bad about the fact that you had distraught him from his work.

"I should get going, then. Sorry again..."

You slowly walked towards the door and as you were about to leave, you felt a firm grip on your wrist.

"Don't... go. The forest is dangerous at night."

You turned around as you were caught by surprise, finding yourself face to face with the man who you were talking to a few moments ago. He looked away and tried to avoid your gaze, yet you couldn't help but notice the cross-shaped scar on his left eye. It seemed that he had lost use of it after suffering from an injury.

His face and body were covered in sweat, which was not surprising considering the nature of his work. As you were finally able to have a clear view on his face, you realized how good-looking he actually was. He did appear quite a bit older than you, but he had great bone structure and his features were well-defined and sharp. The thin, white shirt that he was wearing gave out hints of the toned and muscular body underneath. You looked down at the hand that was holding you by the wrist. As expected, his hands were big and strong, the coarse skin covered with cuts and scars. He seemed to have noticed your stare as he hurriedly pulled his hand away.