The Darkwood is a forest that's been protected for centuries by the children of Artemis: dryads. When the current guardian was a sapling, the forest was teeming with life. So much so that it attracted hunters who eventually settled in the forest's center. For a long time the hunters had been kind to the Darkwood and its guardian, hunting and harvesting just enough to provide for the village.
The dryad that watched over the woods was a gentle being that could often be seen roaming the forest. He didn't make contact with the villagers and they never bothered him. But as time passed and the village grew, more and more was being taken from the forest than the dryad could replenish. Curious to know why their families were starving, the villagers approached and confronted the dryad.
He was left wounded and afraid, saved only by the wolves that had been close enough to hear his cries. The dryad retreated into his tree to heal, leaving the forest weakened and without a guardian for many years to come. Those villagers never returned home and stories were told that the guardian had commanded the wolves to kill them. Some said they'd been cursed, turned into the animals that were hunted. Others said that Artemis herself had punished them for harming her child.
Those individuals that believed that the goddess herself had punished those men were exiled from the village. Shouta's great-grandfather had been one of four children of that family that had been chased from the village. He remembered his mother telling him that a deer had led her grandfather's family to the edge of the forest where his current home now stood.
Since then the village had continued to grow and the forest continued to wither away. Not a soul had seen the dryad or his tree since. But Shouta's family had dedicated themselves to doing all that they could to help keep the forest alive because they knew to fear and respect the gods and their children.
Shouta thinks about his mother's stories as he ducks beneath low hanging branches and expertly steps over jutting roots as he makes his way to the village, bearing properly gathered herbs and berries for a foreigner that he'd befriended years ago. Though when he said foreigner, he just meant that Hizashi wasn't born in the village. He'd come with his family some fifteen years ago and they'd settled in, offering to bake breads and other treats in exchange for the forests herbs and berries. It was the one guilty pleasure that Shouta allowed himself because the blond's family had always been kind to him. That and they gave back to the forest.
They saved eggshells and fruit peels that they didn't use which Shouta turned into fertilizer. His mother once told him about the dryad that guarded the Darkwood and kept it alive despite all that the mortals took from it. She described him a being that knew only how to love the forest and the goddess that had bound him to the woods. He'd been told that the dryad remained in his tree, but she always warned him to be careful when roaming the Darkwood since he preferred isolation versus playing with the village children.
Having made his weekly exchange with Hizashi, Shouta returns home only to promptly leave again. This time, his destination being a clearing that he'd stumbled upon some six months ago. He thought that he'd seen every corner of what remained of the Darkwood, but this clearing with it's single oak that wasn't native to the woods, had been a new discovery.
When he'd first visited it last spring, he immediately saw that the ancient tree was dying. It had been mid April and the tree's branches were completely bare. After a closer look, he saw nothing wrong with the tree other than that it was old. Though there was an odd scarring on the trunk; a deep knot with several spider-like veins stretching outward. Shouta can still remember how warm the bark felt beneath his hand when he had brushed his fingers over it that day.
After that day he began to visit the tree everyday to care of it, hoping that just maybe he'd be able to save it. He started simple, climbing the branches and cutting away what was dead. He spoke to it as well, remembering that his mother had once mentioned that the trees and plants listened to mortals. He brought what he was able to carry of the fertilizer he made and tilled the soil around the clearing, aerating it and adding the fresh dirt into the mix of things.
Today marked exactly six months since he'd first happened upon the clearing and the tall, old oak that stood within. Shouta smiles softly to himself as he comes to stand beneath it's golden leaves that had yet to fall from renewed branches. Autumn was well underway, but the tree remained in full bloom as though it were still the middle of summer. The man shivers at the slight breeze that rolls through the clearing, causing the leaves to whistle and something unfamiliar settle into his gut: Fear.
Shouta realizes now how quiet the forest has become. The only noise being the breeze snaking between the leaves above and the grass below. The fauna that he's normally acutely aware of watching him has disappeared. There is something different about the tree today and against his better judgement he approaches it, reaching out for the knot. He can still feel the heat from the trunk but he can also feel what can only be described as a faint heartbeat.
The tree reacts to his touch and that faint pulse starts to beat stronger.
Shouta stares, wide-eyed, at the being that steps from the formerly weakened tree. Blond hair, bright as the sun, sky blue eyes framed by shadows, and lightly tanned skin with a sunburst shaped scar on his left side that matches the knot on the trunk. The dryad. He's even more beautiful than he'd ever been able to imagine from listening to the stories his mother had told him.
The ethereal being looks down at the mortal responsible to tending to his tree and smiles gently, causing the man to flinch away. Shouta knows not to believe that smile. He's been told the stories a hundred times over about what happened to this guardian. Behind that gentle smile was creature with power that probably wouldn't hesitate to use it on him if he wasn't careful.
"I'm not going to hurt you, mortal," his voice rings out, breaking Shouta from his thoughts, "I merely wish to thank you for saving me and in turn the forest."
"You may believe that you will bring me no harm so I cannot call you a liar, but I know what your kind is capable of dryad," he says cautiously. "I need no personal thanks from you. Instead, I'd like to see you roam the forest once more and protect this place."
The dryad blinks at the man and considers his words. His personal experience with humans had been less than amiable, but this one had been more than kind to him over the last six months. This man had trimmed away all that was dead from his worn branches. He'd felt as he dug around his roots and provided the soil with an unfamiliar one that was refreshing.
He had wanted to emerge sooner, but Artemis had forbade it. Reminding him that even though she had led him to the clearing it was merely to heal him so that the Darkwood would not perish. And since this mortal had indeed saved him, the dryad owed him a debt. One that he intended to pay because he refused to let something like that hang over his head. But how was he meant to do that when the man wanted nothing that his power could offer?
"Will you leave now that I am healed?" he asks without warning.
Shouta shakes his head. "This place is my home. I don't intend to ever leave." The dryad cocks his head and takes a step toward Shouta who immediately backs away. "Please, keep your distance."
The dryad does not understand the man's rejection, but stops his approach anyway. Shouta can see there is much the being is confused about and sits down, hoping that he'll follow his lead. He does, but Shouta doesn't know what to say so the two sit in silence for a minute.
"Why help me if you don't wish for anything in return, mortal?" the being asks.
"Because your forest provides me with all that I need already," Shouta answers.
His forest? This man was sorely mistaken. "The Darkwood is not my forest, Shouta," he explains.
The man narrows his eyes as his stomach drops. "Tell me how you know that name," he demands, ready to flee if the being decides to use it's magic on him.
"I'm sorry," he quickly apologizes, "It's just a little rude to call you mortal-"
"My name. How do you know it?!" Shouta barks.
The dryad flinches. "Y-you often referred to yourself as such when you visited me. You talked to me even though I could not speak back at the time," he blurts out, terrified at Shouta's angry tone.
Memories flash before his eyes. He was sitting just under the leaves of his tree, cradling a litter of rabbits that had been recently orphaned. He'd been caring for the kits since their mother had been killed. Three men entered the clearing in which he rested and approached him, anger etched onto their faces. Mortals had never approached him before and they overwhelmed him.
Shouta watches the dryad pull his knees to his chest, protecting his left side. His eyes dart to the knot on the tree then back to the cowering blond whose eyes were downcast. "Do you have a name?" Shouta asks gently, not wanting to startle him anymore than he already had.
The dryad stares into Shouta's tired, reddened eyes for a moment before answering. Since he'd been bound to the Darkwood, he'd not been called by a proper name except by his goddess whom he served. What few mortals that he'd ever encountered only ever called him dryad or monster. He was something that they feared even though he'd never actually used his magic on a mortal before.
"Y-Yagi," he mumbles, still afraid of the dark-haired man.
"You're afraid, Yagi?" One. He nods, pulling his knees closer when Shouta stands up. "That will make things easier between us. Keep your distance from me and I promise that I won't hurt you. Understand?"
"Yes," he whimpers, still not looking at him.
"I don't have any ill intent toward you personally, Yagi," he goes on, "but I know what your kind is capable of and I'm not willing to take any chances." Two.
Yagi does understand Shouta's fear because dryads were guardians of the forests which they were bound to. They were given power to protect the flora and fauna. Power that could easily kill mortals if needed. Yagi had suffered at the hands of man before and Shouta's anger brought those horrible memories to the surface of his mind. But the dryad had not survived that night through sheer luck.
He'd called out to the forest and they'd come to his aid, chasing those men away. But it hadn't ended there. Artemis had come to his side that night, dragged him to his tree. She'd taken control of the forest and hunted those men like the animals they'd shown themselves to be. She didn't let him watch. She made sure that he was taken care of, promised him that she'd find someone to nurse him back to health properly.
In the six months that Shouta had been tending to Yagi's tree, the dryad learned that this man cared about the Darkwood and had saved him without want of being rewarded. He'd be a perfect sapling to bring new life back to the forest. He'd be able to properly protect it and keep the place balanced. It was a good thing that Yagi was as patient as they came since Shouta forbade him from getting too close. But this man wasn't as cautious as he thought himself to be.
"You're not as careful as you think yourself to be, Shouta," he starts, "there are many ways for me to bind you to the forest, the simplest being for you to speak my name aloud three times. You've already said it twice."
Shouta's jaw drops at the revelation and that anger surges forward again. Though it's not directed at the dryad this time. "Why tell me?" he asks with narrowed eyes.
"Because you don't want to be like me. Not yet anyhow."
"Yet? What's that supposed to mean?"
Yagi doesn't answer, instead returning to the oak to rest once more. It's been a long time since he'd stepped from it's safety and was exhausted. But he'd already planted the seeds within Shouta and knew that he'd be seeing the mortal again.
Shouta can only watch as the bark seems to open up for Yagi to step inside. Before it closes and he's left alone, he meets those blue eyes once more and his breath stills. This was bad. Very bad. He flees from the clearing and rushes home, knowing that Yagi is likely watching him. It would make sense to avoid the dryad from now on, but now that he was healed and able to emerge from his tree, he was free to roam the Darkwood once more.
What if he watched Shouta, waiting for him to let his guard down and coerce him into saying his name a third time? He couldn't let that happen. He wouldn't. He valued his mortality too much to allow himself to be swayed by some gentle, beautiful creature. The only to way to keep Yagi from tricking him was to see him again. To watch him and make sure that he wasn't planning anything.
The two saw each other everyday after that meeting. As agreed, Yagi kept his distance from Shouta, though it did nothing to ease his mind around the dryad. All he had to do was slip up once, say Yagi's name aloud and everything he knew would be taken from him, which wasn't much.
Yagi asked if Shouta had any family to speak of and he didn't. He'd grown up alone on the edge of the Darkwood with his mother until she passed when he was fourteen. She had told him all sorts of stories about how large their family once was during his great-grandfather's lifetime, but he was the only one left. He had no intention of ever marrying and starting a family of his own, so that meant he'd be the last one to ever care about the forest. To treat it with respect.
He was utterly alone in his life and he'd not realized that truth until Yagi had emerged. He had an inkling that the dryad was trying to make a point; to show him that by keeping his mortality he'd remain alone until his time was done. What Yagi didn't know, was that Shouta had already accepted that he'd live the rest of his days alone. He told himself that since Yagi had returned, the Darkwood would heal in time. He would no longer be needed.
Had he ever been needed in the first place?
That thought never left his mind and Shouta constantly wondered why Yagi had taken such an interest in him. Why he was subtly trying to get closer to him. Shouta would be lying if he said that the attention was unwelcome, but he still found it odd. Perhaps Yagi was attached because Shouta had nursed him back to health. Maybe he simply viewed Shouta as someone he was indebted to and nothing more.
He had to know.
"Why are you fixated on me?" he asks one day while walking to the village to visit Hizashi. Yagi never went too close to the village but he was curious about the individual whom Shouta had said respected the Darkwood as much as he.
Not hearing the blond behind him, Shouta stops and turns to see that was some fifteen yards behind. They'd already made it to the village so he continued forward, but not without noticing the sad look in Yagi's sky blue eyes.
The dryad thinks about Shouta's question as he watches his form become smaller with the distance. On the day they'd met, his intentions had been to bind Shouta so that the forest could be reborn anew. It had been a month since that day and here they were, spending their days together but still living in different worlds. Had he not warned about saying his name, he have already bound him and the two would be sleeping peacefully together in the clearing.
But that wasn't something Shouta wanted so Yagi had not forced it. Artemis had promised him a companion and she'd made good on it, but he just couldn't bring himself to take from Shouta what he obviously held dear. He might not have understood why humans valued their mortality but he respected the man's wish to keep his. He owed him that much at the very least given all he'd done for Yagi.
So the question remained: Why was he fixated with Shouta even though he couldn't bring himself to bind him?
He finds his answer when he feels the dark-haired man step into the forest once more. It didn't make sense to him. It wasn't supposed to be possible. He was bound to the Darkwood. Dedicated to protecting it and serving his goddess. Infatuation was something that he was above, yet here he stood admiring the sway of Shouta's hair as he came into sight.
The man's eyes were always red and tired, but Yagi loved to watch them light up whenever Shouta busied himself in the clearing. This forest was Shouta's entire life and Yagi had fallen for him because of it. He won't be happy with the answer, but he has to tell him. It's not fair to keep it buried away.
The blond's face becomes doleful when Shouta stops some ten feet away from him. "What's wrong?" he asks, tilting his head.
Bright eyes meet exhausted ones and Yagi sucks in a breath. He really finds Shouta attractive. "I wish you'd say my name again," he admits. He's not proud to think that, but it's the truth. He wants nothing more than for Shouta to stay with him forever. He's lonely and still afraid of the villagers and what will happen when they learn of his return.
Shouta scowls at the dryad and slowly stomps forward. Were the situation different, Yagi would welcome the closeness, but Shouta's anger made him want to run and hide. He steps back, cowering away from him. "You were the one who warned me about what would happen if I said it a third time," Shouta growls. "Why would I say it now and let myself become a puppet for you and your goddess?"
"Y-you... It wouldn't be like that," he tries to explain. "I only want for us-" he hisses when a rock strikes his forehead. Yagi reaches up, not surprised that he's bleeding, but shocked to see that Shouta is picking up another stone.
He sees those men from that night again and his heart begins to race.
"I never want to see you again."
"Shouta, please- AHH!" Yagi clutches his left side as the stone hits him hard.
"LEAVE!"
Yagi doesn't need to be told twice and flees.
Shouta lets out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding once Yagi is out of sight. What just happened? What had he just done?
The last month that he'd spent with Yagi had been the most social interaction he'd experienced since his mother had passed and he's just chased that individual away. A dryad's only loyalty was to their forest and their goddess. There was no room for Yagi to care about Shouta. He only felt indebted to him and would repeat that to himself until he eventually believed it.
The Darkwood is quiet as he makes his way back to the forest's edge. There's no wind blowing through the treetops and he can't hear any animals around him. Yagi and his tree are healthy once again meaning he's got complete control of the forest once more. He regrets hurting Yagi and is happy that he's not the vengeful type, but Artemis is. Should she decide to retaliate for what he'd done to Yagi, he'd accept it. He deserved no less for harming the benevolent guardian.
That's what Yagi was. That's why humans had hurt him in the past. Why he'd let Shouta hurt him moments ago. Why his goddess felt the need to protect him.
"Dammit," he mutters as he walks into the quaint cabin he's called home since birth. He wants to apologize, but can't afford to give Yagi the wrong idea by approaching him now. Things will be better this way. Shouta will continue to care for the forest in his own way and Yagi... well he hopes that Yagi will have learned not to be so trusting of mortals anymore. He hopes that Darkwood's protector will forget about him and grow stronger from this.
A week goes by and Shouta has remained very close to his home due to the constant rainfall. He's sitting up in the loft, on his bed watching the downpour. He can only see a handful of feet in front of him. He can't help but wonder if somehow his treatment of Yagi has something to do with this. He knew that dryads held immense power but in the time he'd spent with Yagi he'd never seen it used.
So much for carrying on like he was used to. Meeting Yagi had changed everything and after a week without him, Shouta missed him something fierce. He'd made up his mind though. It wouldn't be fair to go searching for him now.
The rain lets up slightly and he can make out the treeline that surrounds his home. His eyes lock onto those of a deer and for a moment he's unable to look away. Trapped in her gaze until she turns away and disappears into the forest. Part of him wants to chase it, but he's weary from not being able to travel very far. Still, it would probably do him some good to get out while the rain is fairly light.
He walks in the direction where she'd been headed. He doesn't know where the hind has gone, but he makes sure to keep an eye on his surroundings so he doesn't get lost. The forest is a bit on edge. Not silent like it had had been after he demanded Yagi to leave, but it also wasn't as awake as normal either. It was like everything was tiptoeing around him, being careful not to reveal some big secret or something.
He's not sure how long he walks for, but the rain has started to fall again, plastering his hair to his face and weighing down his clothes, making it difficult for him to maneuver through the trees and brush. His eyes fall upon her and he picks up the pace. Not watching the ground below, Shouta trips over a jutting root and loses his footing, falling down the small muddy hill he'd been on top of.
He lands hard on his back, knocking the wind from him. His world spins as he coughs and sputters to catch his breath. He's got a headache now and can barely hear himself think as the rain has picked up, crashing down around him. He sits up and flexes his ankle, wincing at the movement. Looking around, he thinks that he recognizes where he's at, but he's not entirely sure. It's too hard to make anything out in this rain.
Shouta grabs onto a low hanging branch just within his reach and pulls himself up. Well, he tries to. The moment he puts weight on his injured ankle, he hears a gut-wrenching crack and cries out, falling back to the ground. He can feel the bone protruding through his skin and turns away, sick to his stomach. He takes a moment to steady his breathing then rips the bottom half of his shirt.
He's thankful for the rain right now, though without it he'd probably not be in this situation. For now, it'll mask the scent of his blood and keep any predators from finding him so soon.
Shouta reaches back up and after some effort, breaks a piece of the branch off. At the very least, he needs to set the bone so he can at least attempt to find his way home because he refuses to lay down and die like this. He bites down on the ripped cloth, holds his breath, then rights the broken bone in a single instant.
The pain is too much and he doubles over, emptying the contents of his stomach. He pants and holds the woods against his leg, wrapping the cloth around it as tightly as he can manage. The bleeding should slow and stop with the pressure but he's afraid to try standing up again. A stick cracks somewhere to his left and he tries to slide away from it, backing himself up against a tree.
Was this really it for him? He decides to follow some stupid deer and ends up becoming fodder for the animals of the forest. He knew better than to be so reckless, so why? What had changed in his life that made him go against everything that his mother had once warned him about?
He hears another crack and squeezes his eyes shut. He can't remember the last time he's been this afraid of the Darkwood. If he were to open his eyes, whatever was approaching him would surely be in sight but he just can't bring himself to look. Time drags by until he finally feels something cold and wet brush against his cheek.
Shouta shivers and opens his eyes to the hind once more.
"You," he whispers, his voice shaking from the fear and wet chill that had reached his bones. "What do you want from me?"
Of course he gets no answer from the animal. It only nudges him again and he breaks into tears. What had he done to deserve this? He'd been nothing but kind to the Darkwood in his lifetime. He'd never taken more than he needed and always gave back. It was all Yagi's fault. If he'd never found the clearing, never cared for that marred oak tree, none of this would have ever happened. He'd have continued his life alone and would have never known how wonderful it felt to have someone waiting and wanting to see you each day.
"Yagi," he finally whispers a third time as his eyes flutter closed. He doesn't know if the dryad will hear him or even come, but he hopes so. Even if only to see him once more.
The deer curls up at Shouta's side, a silent warning to the predators that he is not to be hunted while the guardian makes his way to them.
Yagi is more than surprised to hear his name called and by Shouta no less. But he's not happy to hear it as barely reaches him and sounds pained. He doesn't hesitate as he commands the roots of the forest to take him to the mortal's side. He'd tried so hard not to use his power to look through the roots so he could see the man, knowing that it'd only hurt him further.
He wanted to hate Shouta for pushing him away and hurting him like the only other humans he'd come into contact with, but he couldn't. He had known that by answering that question he was going to be rejected because there was no way that he, an immortal forest guardian, could care for a mortal man. But the truth was that he did care for Shouta and a great deal too. But the man had made it quite clear that he wanted nothing to do with Yagi until now.
When he steps from the forest's root, he freezes at the sight before him. Leaning against a fallen tree was Shouta, unconscious and with a broken ankle, and resting at his side was Artemis.
She lifts her head and stares into Yagi's eyes as he closes the distance between them. He kneels before Shouta, mindful of where his ankle is and brings a hand to his cheek. He's still alive but there's no warmth to his skin.
"How long has he been out here," he asks curtly, moving so that he can lift the man into his arms.
"He followed me from his home," the goddess answers coolly, ignoring her child's frantic and rude tone.
"That's miles from here!" Yagi exclaims.
"I did not tell him to follow. He made that decision on his own."
"He knows that it's dangerous to roam the woods when the ground is this soft and you can't see but more than two feet in front of you," he counters. "Why did you go to him?"
"Because you would not. Just as he would not come to you."
"He may have said my name, but it was under duress,"he says and pulls Shouta into his arms. "I can't bind him like this."
Yagi stands, holding Shouta's limp form in his arms. He had only two options: return to his clearing and bind him to the Darkwood, ensuring his survival. Or take him to the village and hope that someone would be able to save his life.
"Dear child, you are far too gentle and I worry for you," she whispers as she fades into the forest, leaving the dryad to stand alone with his promised companion in his arms. "It would ease my heart to know that you have someone at your side, protecting you."
It wouldn't be fair for him to bind Shouta in this state, but he had little choice if he wishes for them to remain together. He's feverish from being in the rain for so long and his wound will likely be infected so he makes a snap decision and commands the forest to bring them to the clearing. Shouta will never remember this day, but Yagi will always be stuck with the memory of what he's about to do. A fitting price to pay to be with the one he loved forever.
Eighty long years pass before Shouta finally wakes up. He's not sure where exactly he's at nor can he remember anything that happened before closing his eyes.
"Shouta, are you awake?" He recognizes Yagi's voice clearly and the anxieties of the unknown melt away. "Reach out and take my hand, love. I'll guide you."
Shouta doesn't know what he's doing but he follows Yagi's gentle instructions, lifting his hand to reach out for him. He realizes that he can't see anything, but again Yagi's presence keeps him rooted when their fingers intertwine and he is carefully pulled from his tree. Once he's free of the confining bark, he's greeted by Yagi's sun blond hair and sky blue eyes.
"Yagi," he sighs happily.
"I'm here," he confirms and pulls Shouta into a hug. "I'm happy that you're awake. I've been waiting for a long time."
"How long?" Shouta's legs are weak so he rests his weight against the taller man.
"Eighty years." Shouta looks up at Yagi, resting his chin on the blond's chest. His eyes are quizzical and he has no idea what Yagi is talking about. "Let me show you, Shouta," he says holding him close.
The pair is enveloped by the Darkwood's roots and Yagi takes them to the village. Shouta recognizes it and steps away from Yagi to get a closer look. It not at all like he remembers it though. It's bigger and the buildings have been made of something other than the trees native to the forest. His confusion only grows when a group of children stop and point out the pair. A freckled boy with green hair waves that them and Yagi returns the gesture as he comes to stand behind Shouta.
"They know us?" he asks, feeling Yagi snake his arms around his waist.
"Much has changed while you slept, love. I will tell you everything in time but to answer your question, yes, they know us because we are the guardians of this forest."
Shouta could only blink at his words. He was a dryad?
"There will be more than enough time to think about everything, Shouta," he explains as they are taken back to the clearing. Traveling like that is more than exhilarating, Shouta thinks. Especially when Yagi is holding him. "I'm sure you're still tired so let's get some rest. I promise to tell you everything when we wake up together."
Yagi leads the newly awakened sapling to his golden oak where they fall asleep in each other's arms. One blissfully comfortable to be in a tree again, even if it wasn't his own, and the other more than happy to have his lifelong companion finally in his arms.