For a land filled with the souls of the dead, the remembered and the forgotten, the ruler was not what most would expect. A tall, gaunt, unassuming man, with hair the colour and as wild as the sun that shines upon the lands on which he can barely tread, sunkissed skin, and deep set electric blue eyes, is the unlikely ruler of this land. Many would expect his work ethic to be rigid and unfair, harsh in judgement, to compensate for his physical appearance, and they would be wrong. Toshinori Yagi, as that is this being's name, was a fair and just ruler, dedicated to protecting the innocent souls and punishing those who had wilfully committed foul deeds. The innocent souls whose deeds were just and good, or neutral but not necessarily bad, were privy to his soft smiles and gentle guiding hand. Those who had intentionally committed nefarious or evil actions knew his might, and his sharp cunning, of the power that forced them into the eternal torment and damnation of their own creation.
Despite his interesting job, Toshinori himself was not the most exciting man. He existed to abide by and enforce the laws that were passed onto him by higher and older powers. Yes, he had revolutionized those rules and made them into his own, but he did not go out of his way to create or change them. He would only do so to fix an injustice or unfairness that he encountered that was causing unrest in those whom he ruled over. His job, the reason for his continued existence, kept odd hours and, due to such, he only had a few hobbies to fill in his spare time. These hobbies mostly revolved around reading soft romance novels in his overstuffed armchair in front of a roaring fire with a hellhound snoozing down by his feet.
A fact that is unknown to the rest of the gods and goddesses about Toshinori is that he has two forms that he switches between: a larger burlier form which he uses amongst the others of his species so that they don't underestimate him, and his more comfortable skinny form for any time he is away from them, and when he wishes to walk amongst the living. As Toshinori's kingdom was well out of the other big deities, he did not often get visitors or have the option to visit Olympus excluding the winter solstice. Due to this, his communications with the other gods and goddesses is limited, and his knowledge of current godly events is only passed through the mouths of the dead, or the rare few times he ventures out into the world of the living.
Toshinori, then, was understandably surprised when, on one of his few ventures into the living world, a fellow god ran, quite literally, into him. Toshinori had decided that morning that he had wanted a breath of fresh air, and so had travelled to his favourite location, an abandoned beach that connected to a field full of wildflowers. He stood there, gazing at the waves crashing against the sand as he listened to the wind blowing through the overgrown plant life, appreciating this world that his colleagues had worked so hard to create. He turned around slowly, and took a step towards the field, hoping to take a closer look at the vibrant life spread out before him, but instead fell to the ground as he was barrelled into by an unfamiliar figure.
Toshinori was so shocked by this new development that he didn't have time to catch himself, and instead hit the ground hard, like a 7 foot sack of potatoes. He let out a sound of surprise as he heard muffled cursing against his chest. Apparently his assailant had also fallen but had had their fall cushioned by Toshinori's body.
He looked down at the being who was now laying on his chest, and his heart stuttered. Lightly cushioned upon his breast was one of the most beautiful men Toshinori had ever laid his eyes upon. He had dark red hair, cropped short but artfully spiked upwards; his eyes were a startlingly attractive glacial blue framed by thick dark lashes; his skin was pale, almost as pale as snow in a sharp compliment to his eyes. His youthfulness was shown by the clear attempt of red facial hair that was slightly patchy in areas around his cheeks. His tunic clung tightly to his well muscled body as he pushed himself off of the blond, a blush rising to his face.
"I… I didn't see you there," the redhead muttered, rising to his feet before offering Toshinori his hand.
He smiled softly and grasped the offered hand, using the younger man as leverage to help pull him into an upright position.
"All is forgiven, I have a feeling you have a reasonable explanation as to why you were going so fast, are you running from something?" Toshinori asked, dusting down the back of his own tunic. The man frowned and scuffed the ground slightly with his foot as he avoided the blond's eyes.
Toshinori sighed, cocking his hip slightly as he pushed his fringe back behind his ears.
"All right, if you do not wish to tell me why you acted in such a way you could at least give me your name. I'm Toshinori," he said, raising his hand towards him.
The redhead squinted down at his hand, before grasping it and shaking.
"Enji, my name is Enji," he asserted before dropping his hand and quickly peering behind himself. Toshinori also looked behind the smaller man, to find that they were alone on the beach.
Enji had a deep scowl on his face once he turned back to face Toshinori, who had raised his hands placatingly.
"Why don't we just sit down while you calm down, hm? Then we can get you back to where you belong, eh?" the blond asked, indicating a spot near where the sand and grass meet.
Enji nodded stiffly before sitting down in the indicated spot, Toshinori smiled and sat down across from him, making sure to sit in the sand and avoid touching the living matter.
They sat quietly for a while, as Enji's breathing slowed down he noticed that Toshinori's eyes would always return longingly to the beautiful wildflowers growing beside them. Enji frowned, wondering why he wasn't picking the flowers as he looked at them with such longing, and since he lacked tack, he asked.
"Hey, why don't you just pick them and take them with you, rather than just stare?"
Toshinori jumped at the unexpected question, before shaking his head with a small smile on his face.
"Ah, I cannot touch any mortal thing without it dying," he responded with a shrug as he fiddled with his hands.
Enji cocked his head, as though that was a perplexing answer. It was common knowledge that only the people who were from Hades could not touch the living. His eyes widened, if he was from Hades then he would be the only god who could help him with his predicament.
"Take me into Hades with you!" he blurted, before flushing slightly. He hadn't meant to sound so desperate.
Toshinori's eyes widened. That was not a request he had ever heard, usually people wished to be taken back to the living world, not out of it.
"I… what? What do you mean?!" He spluttered.
"I need to get out of the land of the living for a bit, maybe a month. Just until my mother gives up on trying to 'protect me from everything' you know? I'm an adult but she won't accept that!" he exclaimed, turning his pleading eyes on the blond.
Toshinori sighed. That was a reasonable request, after all it was only a month; to a god that's barely any time passed at all.
"All right, but you have to promise me not to eat anything there okay?" he asked.
The redhead nodded, eyes bright with hope. "I promise!"