White Locks (the Clock Tick Tocks)
Summary: ''My name is Yakov, Yuuri-no-mikoto, and a shortage of food I do not have! No, what I lack are mouths to feed! My family is cursed, and three children and their spouses I have lost to it already- only a single son yet remains.'' Desperation lays over the man's eyes like a sheen as he bows as deeply as he can, ''Please, honoured one, save the sole child I have left!''
Disclaimer: I don't own Yuri on Ice
This was written for yoimythologyweek Day Three, Feb. 6th: Reincarnation and Immortality and victuuri-week Day Seven, Feb 6th: Victor: Journeys.
This is part of the I Move the Stars for No One ' verse but can be read as a standalone fic.
Note:
Onna-bugeisha (女武芸者) – Lit. female martial artist. The ''female samurai''.
Naginata - A traditional Japanese halberd: a polearm historically used to cut down infantry and cavalry. Mainly associated with women (especially Onna-bugeisha)
Green scales glimmer in the water between the rice plants- the humongous creature's blood staining the entire field red. It seeps into the earth and sings of murder.
Above it stands a warrior, breastplate and battle skirt glinting in the sun. Her raven hair pulled back, tan skin exposed to the merciless sun. For a second she stays like that, on top of the snake corpse larger than the imperial palace.
A single drop of blood trickles off the naginata in her hands, onto the carcass. The world seems to spin as the onna-bugeisha falls to her knees, breastplate thrown aside. Her face twists and her mouth opens.
With a cry so grief-stricken that all those who hear must weep for a world just perished, she plunges the blade into her stomach.
Yuuri loves his family, but the Heavens are busy, and Minami is a bit much. Guang Hong's presence is quiet but grand and always niggles at the back of his head whenever Yuuri visits the night sky. It is a soothing presence, yes, but a presence indeed. Guang Hong understands. While he is not as introverted as Yuuri, he is the moon. Guang Hong only shares the night sky with the stars and his husband, but the night is his and his alone.
So with an embrace from his brothers, he goes down again, away from Takama-ga-Hara, treading the floating bridge of heaven towards the ground.
The sand is warm underneath his feet, the water lapping at the shore, and for once, he doesn't feel like going back to his sea. He cannot resist the water, though, so rivers he follows inland. The desire to explore- to get lost among the waves of life- has always been there, and always will be there. Yuuri is not the god of sea and storms for nothing, the lust for life is in his bones, sunbleached and salt-greened.
There is salt in this river, but it flows towards the sea, and Yuuri must know how this happened. Where does the salt come from, if not from his realm?
The mountains up ahead rise in green majesty- the jewels of the landscape emeralds indeed. But- what is that? Yuuri blinks.
Terraced rice fields! Stretching out upon the hills, they lie, mirroring the sky. This is where the river comes from. With eyes full of wonder, Yuuri stares up the terrace, startling when he comes eye-to-eye with an old, wizened face.
The man is crying.
''Pardon, sir, might you be the one salting the river?'' Yuuri questions, as another tear drips from the old man's face, with a small plop into the paddies.
The man grumbles, face adopting a scowl. ''The youth of today! No respect for their elders, I tell you! Grieving, I am! Grieving! Leave an old man to his sadness, I beg of you!'' It is only then that he notices Yuuri's water-made kimono and conch shell ears, the salt crystals clinging to his skin and the pearls hidden in slicked back, wet hair.
Yuuri stops him from sinking to his knees. ''Please, do not trouble yourself! Grief, you were saying? What is the matter?'' Looking around, searching for the source, he sees nothing but a small house and the rice fields, ''The paddies certainly seem to be doing well. Shortage of food it certainly cannot be!''
''My name is Yakov, Yuuri-no-mikoto, and a shortage of food I do not have! No, what I lack are mouths to feed! My family is cursed, and three children and their spouses I have lost to it already- only a single son yet remains.'' Desperation lays over the man's eyes like a sheen as he bows as deeply as he can, ''Please, honoured one, save the sole child I have left!''
…Yuuri wants to go back to the sea, to his lovely solitude, but the thought of a boy, of about ten years of age and doomed to die… His heart clenches. He cannot refuse Yakov's request, or he will never forgive himself for letting an innocent, helpless child die. He is immortal- his sins follow him into eternity, haunting him whenever he closes his eyes. He does not want to add this image to them. ''I will free your son, even if it is the last thing I do.''
With that, the deal is sealed.
Yakov's eyes soften. ''Then please, my lord, come in.''
Whatever Yuuri might have thought before, Yakov's son was definitely not a ten-year-old boy. Instead, he is faced with a naked man of about twenty-seven, long white hair spilling over his shoulders as he toes out of the bath.
This was not what Yuuri had expected to find when Yakov had offered the use of the hot spring before fully explaining the extent of the curse. A short hike up the mountain later, he's staring at the mortal man climbing up the rocks surrounding the spring. The steam flows around him, strangely coloured in the light of the oil lamp Yuuri took with him.
Night has already fallen, and Yuuri would think this man an apparition- if not for the fact that his mortality is fragile, shining flame within him.
The man- Yakov's son, Yuuri presumes – blinks, finally noticing him. His eyes glide over the water kimono, but something niggling in the back of Yuuri's head tells him this man can tell gods from monsters easily even without signs like that. ''Good day, my lord. I did not expect to find a god beside the bath, so I'm afraid I am not exactly dressed for the occasion.'' There is a twinkle in his eyes.
Yuuri feels like fainting- the man is not dressed at all. In fact, he's not even trying to cover himself, simply squeezing the water out of his long hair, a mischievous smile on his face. It's a terribly foolish endeavour, attempting to fluster a god. Even if it's working.
If this were anyone but Yuuri, that could have been a death sentence. Not to mention- ''Why would you do something so dangerous as to stay outside after night time? What if the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons came by? You'd be eaten alive!'' The outrage keeps him from sputtering.
The man flutters his lashes at him. ''My body's a temple, my lord! I could not skip my bath! Besides, I've got a very pretty saviour perfectly capable of protecting me here now, right? Walk me home?'' and with that, he bends over, plucks his yukata off the ground and slips it over his head.
''Oh, I forgot to introduce myself! Victor, my lord, at your service!'' and with a wink, Victor puts his arm through Yuuri's arm and begins to walk. Yuuri- dazed- stumbles after him.
Victor hums the entire way back to the house, cheerful tune lighting up the way far more than the lamp does.
Yuuri knows he is in trouble if this man has anything to say about it.
It is only when Victor happily sits him down in the house that he realizes just how much. He sighs. He didn't even get to take that promised bath before getting harangued into it.
What is his life even?
As his father serves the food, Victor cannot help but look at the God on the tatami matt across him. The soft light reflects strangely on his ever-wet skin and liquid-clothing. His hair almost seems to absorb the light itself.
He also has an adorable flush on his face, and the warmest brown eyes Victor has seen in his life.
Victor's saviour-to-be is cute.
He is also trying to evade Victor's gaze as Victor licks his lips. Victor grins.
''So, erm,'' Yuuri tugs at his collar, the water going with before ceasing to be part of the kimono by splashing onto the table. Yuuri winces. ''I apologize for that, Lilia-san.''
Victor flutters his eyelashes. ''Oh, you don't need to feel bad about being wet, Yuuri~!''
Yuuri chokes on his tea. Victor's mother scowls, reaches over the table and grabs his father's farmers hat right off his head- to hit her son up the head with it. ''I raised you better than this, young man!''
Victor whines, clutching his head. ''But mother!''
''But nothing! Yuuri-sama deigned to save your life! This is a serious matter, I'm not going to lose you because you couldn't stop licking your chopsticks while staring at our guest!''
Victor shuts up. Silence rules the table, something heavy coming down with his mother's word.
His father sighs. ''If you are unable to hold your tongue- whether in speaking or licking manner- at least use it usefully. I haven't disclosed the full tale of the curse to him yet.''
Victor swallows thickly. There's a lump in his throat. The running water flashes through his mind- the blood in it colouring it the kind of scarlet he had never seen before. In the middle of it-
He scrambles backwards, fingers trembling. ''I'm sorry, I can't.''
The door falls shut behind him with a thud.
Yuuri finds Victor sitting on the edge of the rice fields, staring down, down, down into the darkness beyond.
''…Are you alright?''
Victor throws his head back and laughs, something careless in the way it echoes through the mountains. Not hollow- just sad. Like a pearl shut away in the depth of the ocean, never to shine in the sun. God knows Victor's hair resembles the white colour. ''No, I'm not. Haven't been for quite some time.''
Yuuri sits down next to him, fiddling with the sea-weed draped around his wrist. The water of his kimono flows down into the field, a steady drip-drip-drip. Waiting.
At long last, it comes. ''The first one to go was my eldest brother. His name was Georgi. We'd been having trouble for a few months. There had been a grand amount of rain that year, so it did not surprise us in the least when at the morn of Georgi's twenty-fifth birthday, it rained as well. Then it came. A gigantic serpent with eight heads and eight tails. Yamato-no-Orochi. Taller than twenty mountains stacked on top of each other, it rose above our house.
We would have been crazy to go outside in the rain, so we stayed inside that day. Suddenly, the world beyond the window turned green- the scales of the beast so huge we could not see beyond him. I remember still how Anya, Georgi's wife, became pale as a sheet, as if all blood had been drained from her. 'He's not inside!' she whispered, ''He's not inside!' and without a second thought, she grabbed the harvesting sickle from where it stood beside the door, and ran outside.'' Victor closes his eyes.
''In our fear, we were paralyzed- not a muscle could we move. Night fell, and still, we dared not tread outside our door. Only when dawn came, did we finally come to life again. That was what it felt like.''
Yuuri wants to reach out, wants to cover Victor's hand with his, but he doesn't know how and-
''Right there,'' Victor points below them, ''In the most outward field, did we find them.''
''Georgi and Anya?''
Victor shakes his head, seemingly shrinking into himself. '' 'The entire field was red, it was as if the Gods had descended upon us to paint the world in blood. In the midst of this, the serpent's body- butchered beyond recognition, and Anya with the gleaming metal of the sickle embedded in her stomach, her hands still wrapped around the handle.'' His hands tremble, ''We did not understand why until we found the pieces of fabric floating around in the blood sludge- the beast had eaten Georgi alive. Anya must've come to the same conclusion, and in a fit of mad rage, she slaughtered the monster. She committed suicide after, not being able to face her husband's death.''
Victor folds into himself, arms around his knees. It is such a sight that Yuuri cannot help but put an arm around his shoulders.
Contact with a mortal like this is strange. If Victor were a lady from the court, he'd have gasped, and run to his father. But Victor is no lady- he is a farmer's son, whose brother came to a terrible end indeed.
Victor takes a shuddering breath. ''This is all I can tell you today.''
Yuuri hums. ''As you wish.''
He will await the remains of the curse's tale as long as it takes Victor to be able to tell it-
One sibling down. Two more tales of the dead to go- and one to prevent from happening.
Weeks glide by. The cultivate the rice, Yuuri helping them out. Victor cannot help but laugh merrily whenever someone passes by and stops to gape.
Yuuri blushes. ''Would you please quit treating my misfortune as entertainment?''
Victor throws his hair over his shoulder, straightening up with a rice plant in his hands. ''Why would I? There's a god working in the fields! Our fields, nonetheless! It paints an unusual picture!''
''Well, I'm certainly not the only unusual figure here.''
''How so?'' Victor asks as he strides towards the deeper field, wading through the water.
Yuuri squints up the mountain, and points at the glimmer next to Victor's house. ''I do believe that to be a samurai, not exactly the most expected guest at a farmer's abode.''
Victor lights up. ''Mickey's home! Wait- let me just plant this last one, then we'll go right up to greet him!'' With that, he bends over- right into the opposite direction of Yuuri.
Yuuri groans.
Sometimes, not even Victor's pleasant company is worth this torture.
After a short hike up the mountain, Victor, naturally, walking in front of Yuuri, they arrive at the house again.
Once within the bounds of it, Victor flings himself right at the brown-haired samurai seated there. ''Mickey!''
Yuuri bites his lip. Could it be that Victor is engaged, after all? Betrothal between a commoner and a young noble such as this Mickey are highly unusual- but then, so is a god walking amongst mortals.
His worries are laid to rest the minute Mickey shoves Victor off him, scowl on his face. Yakov sighs. ''That's enough, Victor, quit bothering him.''
Victor blinks innocently up at his father, but nobody is fooled. Lilia stands up. ''Michele-san, might I introduce you to Yuuri-no-mikoto?''
Michele's jaw drops to the floor, together with his teacup. Yuuri winces as it shatters upon the floor.
''Erm. I did not mean to intrude?''
Despite the not-so-smooth introduction, the rest of Michele's visit goes just fine. The ice is broken quickly- there are only so many ways one can be teased by Victor before losing their stiffness. In the end, he resorted to throwing pieces of his armour at Victor as he tried to poke him- until Yakov send him to the bath.
Yuuri suspects it was the best for everybody.
Over the table, he meets Victor's eyes- mirth dancing within them. He can't help it, he bursts out in laughter.
They're warm, tea in their hands, still laughing when he finally asks. ''Who is Michele?''
Victor sobers. He turns his teacup in his hands. ''My sister's brother-in-law. Or was, I suppose. Does it still count when both our sisters are six feet under?''
Yuuri freezes. ''By the heavens- I did not mean to-''
Victor raises his hand. ''Say no more. It was about time I told you. Two years ago, once again in the rainy season, another monster appeared. Eight heads and eight tails it had, just as the first, so we assumed this serpent had come to avenge its sibling. That was all afterwards, mind you. During the time itself, we were far too busy with the irrigation system, right here at the top of the mountain. Below, on the lowest terrace, my younger brother, Yuri, and Mila, my sister, were watching the water levels.
Mila was anxious- Sara, her wife, should have come home from her latest voyage a week ago. Sara used to travel quite a bit. She was from a noble family, you see. Michele and she were both warriors, brought up with a weapon in hand. She had fallen in love with Mila on one of these travels. My sister's enormous strength tended to gather quite some attention. From all over the country they came to watch her lift boulders! Blessed by the gods, they said.'' Victor took a deep breath.
''She was not so blessed on that day. Yuri told us, afterwards, that he did not even see the giant beast coming- he turned his back for a moment, and the giant beast just was there. It must have taken Mila by surprise, because never should she be defeated by a dumb beast such as this.
Yuri, as you can imagine, screamed, staring up at the enormous beast in horror, before picking up a stone and casting it at the snake. We saw it happen from above- his volume having attracted us. Mother screeched at him, come up, come up, get away from that awful beast! But Yuri was not to be stopped. Not unless bodily dragged away- which did indeed happen.''
Victor's hands tightened around the cup. Yuuri couldn't stand to see the tension in his shoulders anymore, and crossed the room, sitting down next to him. Victor leaned into his side, drawing the strength for the next part, for he spoke on.
''Sara came down the dirt road leading to our mountain, finally home. She was late already, so she'd gone ahead of her brother. We saw her arrive, her battle skirt reflecting the sun. She had not been there when Georgi died, but she certainly had heard of it, and the snake, so threateningly closing in on Yuri was more than enough to move her into action. She sprung off her horse, ran like the wind, and threw Yuri over her shoulder, clambering up the mountain.
She counted heads as she deposited him on the ground in front of us. We had not even the chance to speak to her before she realized just who was not there. First paling, disbelieving, before turning to look down the terrace at the terrible monster in front of it.
The last expression I saw up close was this: Grief-stricken fury, twisting her entire face. Gnarled, pure hatred came through. As if the devil was on her heels, she jumped down, feet thudding whenever she landed, and it felt like she made the earth shake with the force of her anger.
With the cry of the desperate, she drew her naginata, the blade catching the sun's light like it had been set on fire, just like Sara's soul. She threw herself at the monster, hacking away at it at every turn. It was a bloodbath- her every movement mutilating the snake, until little but the last head was left on it. Standing on top of it, Sara stared into its dead eyes and fell down to her knees. She screamed at the heavens, her cries so grief filled that it was as if she'd taken our hearts and slain them along with the beast. Then- she threw her breastplate aside, and plunged her blade into her stomach.''
Yuuri gasps.
''Yes,'' Victor wipes a tear away, ''That was our reaction as well. Seppuku! She could not face the shame of being unable to rescue her wife! Of all the stupid, horrible things to end a life over! Once again, we lost two members of our family- gone, just like that. And then- Mickey… Mickey rode up the hill and saw the tragedy that had befallen us all. The corpse of his sister, her weapon lodged within her own stomach.''
Victor turns further to Yuuri and buries his face into his kimono as if the tears do not count when they flow into the water. Pulling Victor closer, Yuuri cards a hand through his hair and closes his eyes. His heart bleeds for this man.
Embracing him tighter, Yuuri vows. Whatever might happen, Victor shan't meet the same fate as his siblings. He won't let that happen.
The days glide by. Mickey leaves once again, leaving an object swaddled in silk in Victor's hands. They transplant the seedlings into the terraces- and Yuuri finds out not even gods are above backaches, and that yes, Victor's daily bath is truly necessary if he wants his muscles not to outright murder him.
The rainy season starts, and the stalks grow higher as Yuuri and Victor grow closer.
Victor can hardly believe it sometimes- this god, who will dance with him. This god, who twirls him around like he weighs nigh a thing. This god- who Victor calls that because how can someone with a heart that great, that vulnerable, be anything else than divine? Yuuri is everything, not just a storm, shaking everything up, not just a sea, ever-shifting, not just a god, to be worshipped.
Yuuri is a lover, and though Victor knows he cannot lay claim to him all on his own, he yearns for it. Sometimes, all he wants is to crawl into Yuuri's skin, to walk the paths in his mind, to simply watch, from the inside, how Yuuri thinks and acts.
It would be close. So close. The last barriers between them removed- mind against mind, one.
It cannot ever be.
With a heavy heart, Victor picks up the sword in the corner and does what must be done.
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter, the rain comes down on the roof the house. Nothing new. What is new, however, is Victor entering the room, and sitting down across Yuuri, sword in his lap.
''After Mila and Sara perished, we became aware something was very much wrong. It was not just a tragedy anymore, this was a repeated occurrence. It was then that I knew I was a dead man walking- a corpse among the living, my death warrant signed.''
It was terrifying how much sense this made. How easily Victor had walked through the dark- his path lighted only by a single oil lamp, not afraid of the things that hid in the shadows. ''You- Did you care so little for yourself that you were ready to die by the hand of the Night Parade? So eager to fall into the arms of death?!''
It is as if Victor has frozen the very blood in Yuuri's veins. Victor is watching him calmly as it happens, eyes flitting over his face before looking him straight in the eye. ''Yes. After all, it is far from the only reckless stunt I pulled, is it not? I might know better now, but as one may say… To tempt a god is quite suicidal indeed.''
Yuuri flinches. Something in him- cracks. A stone sinking to the bottom of the ocean forever. A house set aflame by lightning. A scream into the void, lost, alone and desperate. Like a vase, so easily shatters his heart.
''Is that all I am to you? An instrument of death?'' It comes out like a whisper, quivering like the heart of a baby bird on the breath before its imminent death.
''..No. A towering whirlwind of power, perhaps, but never that. Your soul, Yuuri… It shines, like a light that forgets how bright it is. How could I not love you?''
There is only truth to be seen in Victor's eyes, and Yuuri- Yuuri bursts out in great heaving sobs, tears dripping off his face. With a great splash, his water clothing falls down, drenching the tatami matt he's seated upon. The emotional turmoil is too great- like a wave rising up in him, flooding all his senses, crashing down, down, down on him until the only thing he can do is cry. Drowning in himself, in this feeling.
He is naked, as vulnerable as the day he was born.
Victor does not give a second glance to it, throwing the sword aside and picking Yuuri up, and embracing him. Rocking him from side to side, he tightens his arms around him, entangled with the overwhelming feeling within.
Yuuri… Yuuri just cries.
Victor has never been good with emotional situations. Thing reach him, he understands, logically what is happening, but when it comes to a response… He does not know how to deal with it at all. This usually ends in three reactions: A. He analyses what the other person is doing and then says exactly what he thinks. This usually ends with them crying harder. B. He ignores them, which is an even worse option than the first, because this ends with grudges for life, and certainly not on his end. C. He panics. This option has had very strange actions attached and an even wider range of reactions towards the strange behaviour.
So when Yuuri starts to cry, Victor jumps straight to option C. He has no idea what to do, and the panic crawls along his spine like terror thousand fold. He doesn't know how to talk about this. By Izanami- that is what started this in the first place! If he'd just- known how to bring this, Yuuri wouldn't have started crying!
But what if's don't help him the slightest. All it does is prolong the time between the start of Yuuri's sobbing and his reaction to it. The clock is ticking- not acting can be far more harmful than acting stupidly, and all Victor knows is that he cannot lose Yuuri. Not like this. Not ever.
Desperately, he does the only thing he can. Reaches out and cradles Yuuri in his arms, holding onto him as tightly as he can. There are no words Victor can speak, no sweet nothings Victor can whisper into Yuuri's ears, no solutions to his problems.
So he holds on like his life depends on it and begs the heavens above that it will be enough.
''What were you trying to tell me earlier?'' Yuuri's voice is hoarse. He's spent himself completely, cried until he could not cry more. At some point, the oil lamp burned out, and they ended up on the floor, but the moonlight falls just so into the room. Yuuri can see Victor's face.
He shoots a quick prayer of thanks to Guang Hong. His brother is an angel, and Yuuri will certainly not be the one who fails to let him know this.
Victor cards his hands through Yuuri's hair, his own draped all over the floor around them, like a curtain finally taken down. It glistens in the moonlight- the colour of the rice he cultivates. ''We left off at my suicidal tendencies- but that was not the point I was making. As the rain began to increase, I counted the days I had left to live. It was not, however, my life that was lost.
I remember it like it was yesterday- the skies dark and cloud-covered, heavy with rain, about to burst loose. When they finally dropped their burden onto the earth, Yuri could not care less- he went outside in the pouring rain. His kitten, Potya, had been missing all morning and he needed to find her.
It stormed something awful- lightning flashing across the sky when we heard his cry. In a blind panic, we ran outside. We begged the gods for him to simply have slipped, but it was not to be. Once again, in front of us rose the eight-tailed serpent, it's massive heads bowed over the lowest field.
'Is it… Is it devouring Yura?' I recall asking my father. He let out a cry after that- we could hear my mother searching for the pitchfork in the back. Marching out, she came, brandishing it as the weapon it could be.
I have no doubt she would have slain the abomination- if it was not for the utterly alien thing that happened next. The snake left the field, thrashing it in the process, and slid into the river, swimming towards the sea.
Gone. It was gone.
Days later, we heard a gigantic sea monster had been washed ashore. It was obvious to us- the Yamata no Orochi had found its end in the sea.
I had still lost a brother. Both Yuri and Potya had been devoured alive. Eaten in my place, nonetheless. The strange manner in which the serpent had made off after the eating of only a single person in our family, it was clear this was the work of a curse. The serpent would pick us off one by one- and I would be the last one, the embrace of death beyond those enormous fangs, into the bottomless depths of its throat.''
Yuuri's hand cradles the back of Victor's head, pulling him closer, into his warmth. ''It doesn't. I'm here, Victor, and I refuse to let you die. Take not my word as god, but my word as being, for my heart is yours, in this life and the next.''
Victor buries his cold nose into the crook of Yuuri's shoulder. ''My heart, Yuuri! My poor heart! How is supposed to survive stuff like this when you suddenly declare your undying love when I least expect it?''
Yuuri laughs. ''What did you expect then- for me to steal that sword you brought with you instead?''
Victor shrugs. ''You can take that right along with my heart, but they would both be willing given.'' He winds a lock of his hair around his finger, ''Its name is Kusanagi, Grass-cutter, and it is the most powerful blade Mickey could find. It is the only weapon that could possibly slay the Yamata no Orochi and save its victim both. From this day forth, it shall be yours.''
Yuuri leans his forehead against Victor's. ''After all of this is done, will you marry me?''
''You would make me the happiest man alive.''
They succumb to slumber quietly, wrapped around each other, smiles on their faces. Sweet dreams fill the night.
Victor's feet keep sliding away in the mud on the mountainside, but this is nothing new- simply a part of checking the water levels in the rainy season. He sighs, tucking his wet hair behind his ear. It rains, the mud comes forth, the danger is imminent. It is no different from when he was fourteen, nor when he was sixteen, nor when he was eighteen.
Except, perhaps the cheerful shouts of his siblings on the other levels, grabbing each other whenever the smaller ones threatened to fall.
Victor remembers being six, Georgi's hands on his shoulders, keeping him upright. They'd been so big compared to his own back then. He can't recall if their hands grew to be the same size anymore, the same way the exact corners of Mila's smile slipped from his mind, like a piece of clothing washed too many times, all colour gone.
He remembers taking Yuri by the shoulders himself- carrying him on his shoulders when summer came.
He remembers times long gone by.
God, how he misses them.
A crash of lightning burst through the sky. Victor jumps- and falls. He groans, getting up, hair and clothing covered in mud. Above him, the sky is dark, clouds whirling, grey, dark blue, black. The rain drips off his nose, drip, drip, drip- drop.
It soaks into his clothing, all the way through his yukata, icy against his skin. Lightning crosses the sky once more, thunder booming, and it feels as if the world is swirling around him, the ground falling away.
Staring up, up, up into the sky, eyes widening in horror, Victor knows.
It's too late- too late to tell Yuuri, too late to call for help, too late, too late, too late- to live.
The death warrant has been signed- and the curse has come a-knocking.
Yuuri feels it in the air- the storm is averted.
Like wind chimes, the sound of unrest awakens in the depth of his soul. The war drums begin- the violins screeching.
He opens the door and stares up at the abomination towering above him. The serpent is so large it reaches all the way to the heavens, parting the clouds, the sun breaking through, its scales gleaming in the light.
Eight heads, venom dripping fangs at ready. Eight tails, within the water of the lowest field. The snake curls around the mountain, its heads level to Yuuri's.
For a second, the world is quiet. Yuuri watches in awe as the heads come closer. It is beautiful, in its monstrousness. Magnificent, bulbous eyes glistening with intelligence.
A breeze ruffles through Yuuri's hair, taking a little of his water kimono with it. In the corner of his eye, a piece of cloth floats by.
It is dark, roughly hewn, and the last time he saw it, it was in one piece.
Long is the night, for he who does not want the morning to come.
It is Victor's yukata.
The Hell bursts loose. It twists, it hurts, it's walking on glass, but the glass is inside his chest, and every breath he takes makes his flesh rake across the shards. He bleeds. He hurts. He screams.
The serpent's eyes, all sixteen of them, bore into Yuuri's skin. Its eyes dance as if gloating at his grief. The knife in his heart twists and Yuuri gabs the steel upon his side.
He draws Kusanagi.
No day more will the Yamata no Orochi live. Yuuri zooms in on all the weak spots- one is most obvious. The eyes.
Blue, like the ocean.
Blue, like Victor's were.
With a cry of anguish, Yuuri launches himself off the mountain, the water rising to propel him forward in the air, wind rushing past him. With one mighty heave-
The snake ducks, and a long curtain of- is that hair?!- is cut instead. Long, white locks flutter to the ground, scattering between the rice, or taken by the wind.
Dumbfounded, Yuuri stares at the head he targeted. It huffs, flipping its brand new bangs.
''What- what even-'' Yuuri's mouth falls open, ''Victor?!"
The serpent rolls his eyes and flips his somehow perfectly cut bangs once again. The message is clear. FIANCEE, DO NOT BE DUMB. IT IS I, THE GLORIOUS.
Yuuri adjusts his glasses. He could sputter at this point, but yes, that is definitely Victor. ''My love, just let me know if I'll marry you as a snake or as a man.''
All of Victor's eight heads beam like the sun, and Yuuri would know because the sun is his brother. But who cares- Victor is happy! How lovely it is to have one's priorities straight!
To the altar, it is!
…Now, to tell Yakov he can stop hiding behind Lilia. They've got a ceremony to run.
''Yuuri's getting married and he did not tell us?!'' Minami gasps. Clutching his chest, he leans heavily against Chris. ''Not in all my years of being a bro-con, I have been so offended! Not even when Guang Hong hogged all the Capri Sun!''
Phichit shrugs. ''I'd say he did tell you, for I am here, the Herald of the Gods!''
''A wedding portrait, Phichit, I am in need of a wedding portrait!'' Minami wailed.
''Darling, why are you so obsessed with your brothers and Capri Sun of all things?''
Minami grabs Chris' shoulders and yanking him down until they are face to face, nose to nose. ''Chris. I am the sun god. Capri Sun is the ambrosia of the gods. Do not ask about the little brothers. You know about the little brothers. I mean. Have you seen Guang Hong's cheeks? Yuuri's smile? How can you not be obsessed with that? Tell me what is wrong with you Chris, and I shall fix it with the wonder of my little brothers.''
Chris closes his eyes. ''I'll guess we'll be at the wedding then, together with the rest of the heavens. There goes my pedicure appointment!''
Minami whoops and runs off to tell Guang Hong and Leo.
Phichit laughs. ''Don't be silly, Chris, there's no way Minami would allow anyone to go to his brother's wedding as anything less than pristine. Everybody will be getting a pedicure!''
Now, that Chris could roll with.
Yuuri still has no explanation as to how Victor turned into a big ass snake, but whatever. The entirety of Minami's court came down, so they'd had to hold it in the Sun Temple. No other place was big enough- the front row filled by his father, Guang Hong, Leo, Yakov and Lilia. The rest of the seats on the row were empty, an ode to the dead.
Standing in front of the altar, Minami beaming- literally- and about to marry them, not even the thought of those who are not there can dampen Yuuri's joy. He's good. Great. Fantastic, even! He smiles up at Victor, towering above him in his serpentine form. Victor beams back. Huge fangs are uncovered, and Yuuri's smile becomes even wider.
What better to do on such a lovely summer day than marry your one true love?
''Speak now, or forever hold your peace.''
The doors of the temple burst open. ''I OBJECT!'' Five, no, six ghostly beings descend upon them. The blond boy in the front- he can't be more than fifteen years old- kicked the door open, chest heaving. Infuriated, he stomps down the aisle. Jabbing a finger at Victor-the-giant-serpent-with-nicely-cut-bangs, he screams- 'Ouch, mother! Mother! I'm sorry, please let go of my ear!''
Lilia tuts. ''Here I see my dead children and their spouses, for the first time since their death, and not only do you interrupt your brother's wedding, but you also do not give me a hug? Shame on you, Yura!''
The boy crosses his arms, but eventually gives in, ignoring the redhead in the back snickering at him. The ghosts seem to be quite solid indeed, because the boy- Yura? – is engulfed in a soul-crushing hug.
Yuuri scans the others. Hmm… The man must be Georgi- the woman inspecting her nails next to him is probably Anya. The two young women… The one with mirth dancing in her eyes must be Mila, the dark-haired one Sara.
…The kitten slinking around Yuri's legs must be Potya.
Yuuri chuckles.
Yakov finally gets over the shock. ''How- how is this possible? How, pray tell, do you appear in front of us today?''
Georgi shrugs. ''Izanami Hiroko told us she'd let us out of Yomi to attend the wedding as long as we took her to see it too. She might not have been there for her children's birth, but she definitely wanted to be there for the wedding! One cannot miss too many important occasion's in their life, you know.''
On the front row, Yuuri sees his father wince. ''Um. How is she?''
Sara opens her bag. ''A bit beheaded, but you know, the only way to get her out of the Yomi was for her to be there simultaneously, so this was our only option.''
The head opens her eyes. ''Oh, good day, Toshiya! Don't worry about the underworld business- I promise to maim you too badly once I get the chance! Now, where are my boys? I'd hug them, but a kiss on the cheek will have to do for now, as I am lacking limbs at the moment.''
…This reunion was going to take some time.
On the other side of the room, another reunion is taking place, Victor looming over it.
When his mother finally passes Yuri over to his father, she turns to her other children. She taps her foot. ''First things first. Anya, Sara, what in the name of Izanagi possessed you to kill yourselves?!''
Sara winces. ''...Well, by now you know Vitya turned into a snake. The other did that too.'' She stares down at the sword still embedded in her abdomen. ''I did not deal so well with the knowledge I had killed my love, once I realized what I had done.''
Anya swallows thickly but raises her chin. ''I could not leave this idiot alone in death. Who knows what kind of ideas he'd get!'' she waves in Georgi's general direction, ''Our marriage might not always be the best, but I have duties and I shall see to them!''
Georgi doesn't even look surprised, just puts an arm around her waist, tightening his hold on her. She smiles. ''Besides, I needed to be appropriately dramatic!''
His mother sighs and embraces them all, before shooing them to the seats. ''Stop standing around, your brother's getting married! I know, I know, I never expected to find anyone who would put up with him either, but it happened, we need to marry him off quickly so Yuuri doesn't change his mind.''
Victor sniffs imperiously. He's perfectly desirable!
Mila blows him a kiss.
Yuuri laughs. ''May I kiss the groom?''
Victor bows down, all the way down, eight heads descending until they are face to face. Yuuri smiles, caresses Victor's scales, and places a teeny, tiny kiss on top of his giant scales.
Light flashes, thunder sounds, the eight heads melt together, as do the tails. Smaller and smaller and smaller he turns, until it is Victor the man who is standing in front of him once more.
Joy bubbles up inside his chest. God, what a wonderful man he married. Kiss the groom? ''Yes, you may!''
Victor jumps Yuuri so enthusiastically, they tip over and fall onto the altar.
It doesn't stop them from kissing, laughing into each other's mouths.
Later, over sake, his father finally bursts. ''But what ever turned my brats into gigantic snakes?!''
Victor, once again, flips his new bangs. Despite the other seven heads still having long hair back when he was a snake, his hair did not take so well to being cut on one head, and the hairdo came with to the human form.
He likes it.
Yuri grumbles. ''You loved rice so much you birthed four mortal rice deities and you ask us how we did it?''
Georgi sighs. ''The curse was not turning into the Yamata no Orochi, father. It was a flood. The rice would have been washed away. Each of us… We felt it in our bones, and when the time came, and we realized this, looking at the clouds above… It rose up. Rose and rose and rose, until we were the size of the imperial palace, towering above the mountain. Sporting eight heads and eight tails, we were large enough to propel the rain clouds forward so the disaster would not hit us. Of course, none of our spouses knew that.''
Yuri sticks out his tongue. ''Blegh! At least I did not have a partner stupid enough to slaughter me!''
Mila ruffles his hair. ''Awww, don't be so glum, Yura! Wedding party, remember?''
''I did not come to attend the wedding! I came out of sheer outrage!''
Victor cocks his head, pouting. ''Do you not love me, little brother?''
Yuri grabs Victor's wedding kimono, yanking him down. ''THE HAIR, VICTOR? SERIOUSLY, THE HAIR?'' Aww, Victor's little brother is so cute! Look at how red and angry he is! Steam coming out of his ears! Ah, Victor loves being alive!
''We all died, but you didn't because your boy toy recognized you by your hair flip?''
Victor preens. ''My hair is glorious, Yura! Divine, even!''
''Victor, you're older than me, and I went before you. HA!''
''Yura, you don't get to brag. You didn't even have a spouse, you just killed yourself by accident on the way home!''
Yuri sputters. ''I died a HERO, Victor! Rescuing a kitten while you were just standing up the hill crying 'is he eating Yura, is he eating Yura'!''
Anya snorts. ''If I remember correctly, you were searching the field for Potya when they said that because you had accidentally thrown Potya away to the sea with your tail while propelling the clouds.''
Potya meows from Yuri's lap.
Mila cackles. ''Oh, the panicked look on your face as you'd realized what you had done, and ran after him as quickly as you could!''
His mother shakes her head. ''Do not jest about that, Mila. He drowned!''
Minami- Victor's brother-law, now, and the designated shovel talk person if the speech he'd gotten just before the wedding was taken into account- beamed, laughing. ''Actually, about that, I was thinking about a wedding gift!''
Yuuri groans and lets his head fall on Victor's shoulder. ''I thought we agreed you wouldn't spend a fortune on me again?''
Minami waves him away. ''Psh, I have a perfectly good 'spoil my cute little brothers' budget and its limit is the sky,'' before Yuuri can protest, he babbles on, ''Anyway, I was thinking, and I came to the conclusion material goods were not enough! My love for you has risen above heaven, and now, even below earth! My darling brother, for you and your lovely husband, I shall make all the former rice deities ascend! Your husband will stay a rice deity, since he's still alive and all, but he's got to lose the mortality.''
Victor snorts. ''Have fun being the god of cats, Yura!''
''OH MY GOD. CAN'T WE EVER DO THINGS THE NORMAL WAY?!''
Guang Hong laughs at Yuri, trying to hide it behind his hand. ''I would apologize, but I think your family is just as crazy as ours, my friend. Welcome to the family!''
And what a family it was!
Omake:
By the end of the night, when nobody is paying attention anymore, Victor leans forward. ''I am a rice deity. You know what that means, Yuuri?~''
Yuuri side-eyes him, but does not lean back when Victor thumbs his lower lip. ''...No?''
''I am a symbol of fertility,''
Yuuri chokes. A lot.
Well, this is his marriage.
Author's Note
I would like to thank i-w-p-chan for helping me with my blocks, and the Meet Me in the Pit Crew for further support!
Victor was based on Kushinada-hime, which is her most well-known name. Another name she is known by, however, is Ina-Gami Furu-Kushi-Nada-Hime, which means "True-hair-touching princess''. Let's just say that that could not go ignored.
Songs I listened to:
Coffeeshop romance (Yuuri and Victor's first meeting)
Wind Beneath My Sails (Planting rice)
Queen's Watchdog (Sara & Mila's death)
Despacito (Victor's suicidality and Yuuri's tears)
What is Fear (Yuri's death)
Yuri! In Orchestra (Victor walking in the rain)
All by yuuris-piano!
Is it possible for hot springs to be that close to rice paddies? Yes! I did a lot of research on this, and it is possible to go from a rice terrace to a hot spring in a 1+ hour hike.
Also, I would have gone for a Shinto wedding, except Yuri insisted on the ''forever hold your peace'' line and I couldn't help but give in. I am Weak to Drama.