Few notes:
I don't own Yuri On Ice. I wish I do, but I don't.
This is based on the tale of 'The Long Haired Maiden', which I sadly, do not own as well.
This is supposed to be set in the olden days, so age of consent means 16 years old.
For the main storyline, Yuuri is 15 years old, and Viktor is 19 years old.
Once upon a time, in a tiny village known as YuTopia, there lived two young boys- Viktor and Yuuri. Their parents were close friends, and when Yuuri was born, they had an agreement to betroth Yuuri to Viktor when Yuuri was of age, for Viktor was four years older than him. As the years passed, Yuuri and Viktor grew up to form fast friends, and somewhere along the lines, they both fell in love as well.
Viktor was well-known in the village. He was handsome, and his hair was his trademark. Not only was it silver, which was rare, but he had kept it long due to a off-hand comment made by Yuuri. Yuuri had loved Viktor's hair, and had commented that it was too pretty to cut. Additionally, he was well-versed in dancing, and it was often described as angelic. He was thus known as the long-haired angel.
Yuuri was famous as well, but for a different reason. Yuuri was an amazing musician, and rumour had it that his music could melt even the coldest heart out there. His music could touch people, making them experience all sorts of emotions. It was even said that with the right instrument, he could enchant any living creature! Viktor often danced to his music, and swore to never dance to another's tune, to Yuuri's secret delight. Together, they often performed for festivals and brought joy and laughter to the villagers.
One sunny day, Yuuri, Viktor, Yuri, Viktor's younger brother, and Mari, Yuuri's older sister, were out playing by the lake. Viktor was attempting to teach dancing to Yuri while Yuuri and Mari laughed as the younger boy scowled and hissed and threatened to step on Viktor's toes. They were all having a fun time when suddenly, a strong wind came up and whisked Viktor away.
"Ugh… My head hurts," Viktor groaned, rubbing a sore spot on his head. His eyes widened as he took in his surroundings. "Where am I?" He did not recognise the place around him. Gold decorations entered his vision as he stared around him. He was lying in a bed and was covered with a thick emerald green coverlet. The room was luxurious and dripping with finery, to the point it was ridiculously gaudy. Holding his head in his hands, he strained to recall what had happened. The last thing he remembered was Yuuri's panicked face before blacking out.
"Ah, the sleeping angel has awakened!" A loud obnoxious voice boomed out. Viktor squinted at the figure before him. A crown was nestled in his black hair, and he was wearing a forest-green outfit.
"I'm sorry, but do I know you?" Viktor asked. The man's face fell before lighting up again.
"Ah! I'm surprised that you've not heard of me, but no matter! I am King J.J., and am the ruler of the Mountain! I have brought you hear because I have heard you are the best dancer the world has to offer. Now, I will be marrying my lovely Isabella tomorrow, and want you to dance! No need to worry about the music, I myself composed the music!" King J.J. boasted.
Viktor scowled. Was the man serious? How dared he? Who was he to assume that Viktor would do what he say, and to another's music? "I refuse," Viktor flatly stated. "I do not dance to anybody's music but of my Yuuri's."
A dark look crossed King J.J.'s face. "You're playing with danger, boy," The king growled. "Do not forget that I am no mere mortal, and can crush your very existence. I will give you until tomorrow to decide. If you fail to obey, I will punish you. So choose wisely."
The door slammed shut behind him. Viktor glared at it mutinously. He attempted to pull open the door, but it stayed firmly shut. Viktor gave up on it after a few more minutes of tugging and searched the room in hopes of finding an escape elsewhere. His search proved fruitless however, as the room, although not lacking in material items, was certainly lacking a window. Sighing, Viktor collapsed onto the bed. "Oh Yuuri, what am I to do now?" Viktor thought sadly to himself.
The next day dawned, and Viktor was escorted to the throne room. The ruler was striding up and down with impatience, but stopped when Viktor appeared. "Ah! The man of the hour has appeared! So tell me, have you made your decision?"
"My answer is still the same. As long as it is not Yuuri's music, I will not dance." Viktor replied, staring at the monarch with defiant eyes. The smile on King J.J.'s face slipped off, taking on a dangerous look.
"Are you sure? It would be a pity for a man of your talent to be… let's say, cast aside?" The meaning was not lost on Viktor, but he remained quiet. His muteness only served to enrage King J.J. more, as it clearly conveyed Viktor's intentions of "I don't care for your threats. There is no way you can convince me to perform for you."
"Guards! Drag him to the waterfalls! Chain him there so he may suffer for all eternity!" King J.J. shouted out angrily. Two guards came and pulled Viktor along. Despite his struggles, he was soon led to the mouth of a waterfall, where he was then chained to. The strong currents poured over his head, and he soon gradually lost consciousness, with "Yuuri" as his last thought.
When Viktor had vanished from Yuuri's sight, Yuuri was struck with worry. He went all around the village, seeking help, and when nobody offered the answers he sought, he took to travelling to various locations, in hopes that someone would be able to offer some assistance. And assistance did appear when Yuuri found his childhood friend, Yuuko, who had moved to the neighbouring village with her husband and triplets.
"I don't know how to help you Yuuri, but I know who can!" Yuuko had exclaimed excitedly. "Not too far from here, there is an old apple blossom tree! A spirit by the name of Phichit inhabits it, and is said to have the answers you seek, for a cost. I hear that they can be quite unorthodox though?"
Yuuri thanked her profusely before seeking out the spirit. It took him a day to finally arrive at the tree, and the sight that greeted him was surprising. A young boy, barely older than himself, dressed in a red and gold ensemble was sitting on a branch while happily playing with squirrels.
"Uhm, would you happen to be Phichit, the spirit of the tree?" Yuuri called out hesitantly. He was unsure if he came to the right tree, but it was the only apple blossom tree around in the area that Yuuko had pointed out to him.
"Ooh! A visitor! And a cute one too!" Phichit excitedly scrambled down, before pulling Yuuri into a tight hug. "It's been so long! Sit! You must be tired!" Yuuri felt himself being pulled down onto the grass next to the young boy.
"M-my name is Yu…" Yuuri started to introduce himself, but Phichit interrupted him.
"You're Yuuri Katsuki! I've heard so much about you! They say your music is what must be played in the heavens, and your skills are unparalleled!" Yuuri blushed at the praise, which sent Phichit cooing over how cute he was.
"Uh, th-thank you for the praise," Yuuri scratched the back of his head, unsure of what else to say. "But I have a question to ask you."
Phichit nodded his head sagely. "Ah yes. I've heard of that too. Your missing fiancé and partner. How tragic!" He quickly dabbed at his eye. "To be separated so cruelly, and all because of that selfish mountain king!" Noticing Yuuri's stunned gaze, Phichit elaborated. "Oh! I have the ability to speak to animals, so I hear loads of stories! Your fiancé was kidnapped because the ruler of the mountain, King J.J., had heard tales of his beautiful dancing, and wanted him to dance at his wedding. Unfortunately, your love refused, and was punished to stand under the waterfalls, and has been transformed into a stone statue."
Yuuri felt his heart constrict. His eyes watered for a moment, but they soon disappeared when anger started to boil within him. How dared he do that to Viktor? Yuuri vowed to avenge Viktor. Looking up at Phichit with resolve, he was about to ask his next question, but Phichit placed a finger against his lips.
"Shhh," Phichit shushed."I know of what you seek of, but every question has a price."
Yuuri was not swayed. "Name it. As long as I can do it, I will. And even if I cannot, I will find some way to do it."
Phichit clapped happily. "Yay!" He cheered. "I want a performance! And more visits! And bring your friends too!"
"Don... wait what?" Yuuri was stunned. When Yuuko had stated that his prices were unusual, this was not what he was expecting. "It's not 5 years of labour, no first-born child or some rare artefact?"
Phichit pulled a face. "Puh-lease. I'm a tree spirit. What labour am I gonna give you? Water me? And a child and artefacts? What on earth would I do with them? Now, a performance! I've heard you guys are amazing, and I can't exactly leave my tree, so I can't see you guys. I only hear tales from my animal friends. And it gets dead lonely, not being able to speak with people, so more visits is a definite must!"
"O-okay, that's true and all. Okay, I accept!"
"Sweet! I feel this to be the start of a beautiful friendship!" Phichit cheered. "Okay, so, to rescue your lover-boy, you're gonna need this magic flute! The music you play has the magic to evoke emotions, but you don't want that! The flute will at least enhance your magic, so breaking the spell over your sweetheart should be easy-peasy! Plus, the flute will help you chase the mountain ruler away! Or something. I'm not entirely sure what the flute does, but you'll definitely need it to rescue your sweetheart! So. To get this flute, you're gonna need to…"
After carefully taking note of what he needed to do, Yuuri set out in the direction Phichit pointed out. Defying all the hardships, Yuuri travelled for a hundred and one days, before spending another hundred days climbing the rose mountain until he finally reached the summit. There, he saw a tall lady wearing yellow robes, with her black locks pulled into a bun sitting on a cloud and polishing the flute. Her lime-green eyes studied Yuuri as he explained his situation to her and pleaded with her to lend him her flute.
"My flute has but the power to drive the mountain god away for a period of time. It will have to be up to you and your wisdom to ensure he would never learn of what you aim to do," She uttered as she passed him the flute. She then pulled on a bell, letting it ring while saying, "My husband will bring you back home. When you are done with the flute, simply blow and toss it high into the sky. The winds will carry it back to me." With that, a man with a receding hair line and face in a permanent scowl escorted Yuuri back home.
Upon his arrival back in the village, Yuuri quickly assembled the villagers and spilled out what he had learnt. Together, they hatched a plan. In order to prevent the mountain god of ever learning what had been done, they decided to carve a stone statue in Viktor's likeness. They then carried the statue to the mouth of the mountain, where the mountain god dwelled. Outside the door, Yuuri started to play on the magic flute. As soon as the first note was played, it reverberated throughout the mountain, and the mountain god fled, as he could not stomach hearing music that was not his own.
Yuuri's playing enchanted the guards of the mountain ruler's dwelling however. With coaxing, Yuuri managed to get one of them to lead him to where Viktor was. With the melodious music being played, the enchantment over Viktor soon broke, and he slowly opened his eyes. The guard unchained Viktor, who, weak with fatigue, was supported back to where the villagers were.
Yuuri then cut off Viktor's long hair, which he then placed on the head of the stone statue, as that was the only part that the villagers could not replicate on stone. By some strange magic, Viktor's hair took root on the stone figurine, and when placed under the waterfall, nobody would be able to tell that it was not Viktor under there, but a stone statue.
It took approximately three days before Viktor was well enough to walk around. During those three days, he was mostly sleeping whenever Yuuri came to visit him. However, even after the three days, Yuuri found it rather difficult to speak to Viktor. He would always either be out running errands, or would suddenly have the urge to go around the village. It was as though Viktor was trying to avoid Yuuri. Unfortunately, that could not go on forever, and Viktor found himself alone with Yuuri, courtesy of his parents who told him to spend some quality time together. They were both silently walking along the river bank, when Yuuri broached the subject. "Viktor… did I do something wrong?"
Viktor was stunned. Where had Yuuri gotten that idea? "N-no! You didn't do anything wrong! In fact, I should be thanking you for rescuing me!" Viktor stammered out incredulously. And it was true. Viktor was thankful for Yuuri. But his hair…
"Then why? Why do you keep avoiding me? Do you not like me anymore?" Yuuri glanced up at Viktor, eyes glistening with unshed tears. Viktor's heart constricted. His fears had caused Yuuri to be frightened. Viktor quickly gathered the younger boy in his arms.
"Oh love, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you," Viktor comforted Yuuri. "It's just… I… I was worried," He admitted, tears starting to fall down his face and dampening Yuuri's shirt. "I don't have long hair anymore, and I know how you loved it. So I was frightened."
Yuuri stilled in Viktor's arms, silently absorbing what Viktor had just said. When it finally clicked though…
"Ow! That hurts! Yuuri…" Viktor whined, rubbing the back of his head. Yuuri had whacked the back of Viktor's head as hard as he could.
"Stupid Viktor!" Yuuri shouted. "Idiot, stupid, fool!" Tears started streaming down his face as well. "Do you honestly think I'd love you less because of that?! I love you because of you, and nothing will change that!" Yuuri started lightly hitting Viktor on his chest, fiercely trying to control his sobbing as well.
Smooch.
Yuuri stopped crying due to shock. Did Viktor just? He stared at Viktor, mouth gaping like a fish before the action caught up and he blushed a bright red up to his ears. Viktor laughed and started clinging onto Yuuri, cooing over how cute he was.
"Well, I don't know how to react when you start crying, so I kissed you!" Viktor announced sunnily, beaming a huge love-shaped smile. Then, he suddenly lowered his voice, eyes half-lidded as he seductively crooned into Yuuri's ears. "Oh love, I hope you get used to that soon, because I have so much more planned for our wedding night." The revelation caused the dying blush to return full force, making Yuuri blush shades of red that had never been seen before.
A week after Yuuri's sixteenth birthday, the happy couple were wed next to Phichit's tree, and as it always ends in fairy tales, they lived happily every after.
Fun fact!
Apple blossom tree is also known as Cassia javanica, one of the nine auspicious trees in Thailand, said to bring good luck. Seems fitting for Phichit!