The air was light that morning, Hotaru humming happily while writing under the dim light. His eyes full of spirit, he wants to finish the script soon. Tonight gonna be different, he doesn't eating alone. He will having dinner on the same table with the black winged tengu.
There's always reason behind something and the reason for them having dinner together lay on several days ago.
#1 Flash Back
When Hotaru opens his eyes, sunbeam hits him through holes from straw roof. He finds himself laying in his own bed and his own room. He blinks his eyes several times to adjust with the light before completely awaken.
"Aa, Ho'chan!! You already wake up!" said a crane youkai, Hakutsuru cheerily.
Hotaru smiles at his little fellow. He tries to sits when he feels pain in his backbone and head. Hotaru gritted his teeth to endure the pain.
"Don't push yourself, Ho'chan or Tengu'sama will scold me."
"Tengu…sama…" repeats Hotaru.
"Yes, Tengu'sama really came that night to save you. Ho'chan, that was dangerous, please doesn't ever do anything like that anymore," Hakutsuru begs.
Hotaru chuckle which make the low class youkai worry about Hotaru's condition; the crane youkai afraid that his head gets injuries and affects his brain too.
"Ho'chan, are you 'kay?" asks Hakutsuru lower his head, almost touch Hotaru's face.
"So sorry for make you worry, Hakutsuru. Hmh, I'm fine," reply the monk with warm smile in his lips.
"Do you know where this Tengu'sama was?" asks Hotaru.
Hakutsuru lifts his face, its black eyes look straight at the man. It wonders why the man asks about the black winged tengu. The crane youkai afraid of get scolded by the tengu because it doesn't take care of Ho'chan properly. The other reason is because Hakutsuru doesn't think that it's good for Hotaru meets him now.
Hakutsuru heard lot of rumors about the black winged tengu and most of it isn't good rumors. The tengu had ate so much oni before, he is so strong that able make other tengu fearing him. A lot of strong oni perish under his powerful blast, so it is normal for low class youkai like it fearing him too. His black wings are different from other tengu.
Hakutsuru knows that Hotaru has special ability to get close with youkai and oni as descendant of Ichinomiya family. Hakutsuru knows that Hotaru not as strong as his ancestor. He doesn't have any talent on cease oni or youkai; that why he asks Hakutsuru and the others to disturb the villager and make fool of them.
If something happen to scarlet eyed monk, Hakutsuru will grieving. Ho'chan isn't bad person after all, Hakutsuru loves him. It never met someone as kind and honest as him.
"I wanna thank him, Hakutsuru. I would be glad if you would show me the way," said the man like he can read what's on Hakutsuru's mind.
Hotaru winks at white crane that often plays with him since he's still child, to make sure that nothing bad will happen once they reach the black winged tengu's nest.
Hakutsuru unfold its wings and jumps backward, "I will after you getting better."
After saying that, the white crane youkai flies away to the sky. Hotaru doesn't have a chance to follow with his current condition. He just smiles for left alone in the room.
Hotaru licks his lip before slowly open it. Then he closes his eyes and begins singing.
#2 On the Way
Hotaru asks Hakutsuru about promise they made. Since the red eyed man already gain his normal condition, the crane youkai can't avoid him despite its hesitant to bring the man in to the mountain where the black winged tengu lives.
So there they are, walk through under the green canopy of trees. The forest's layer are thick with decomposed leafs and somehow sticky. The weeds coated the woods, gives slight color of green and brown.
Hotaru doesn't know that he and the plants compete in gaining air. He just know that his breath become heavier. He is a bit excited about what will he talks once they get there even tough this is not the first time he will meet the black winged tengu. But he never seeks him before, so this is gonna be different.
Hakutsuru stops under big Ginko tree which the bark covered by weed. Hotaru can feel strong presence near him.
"He lives there, Ho'chan," said Hakutsuru points his wings to the top of the tree.
"I think he looks closer than that, Hakutsuru'san," says the monk while turns his head and finds a creature hovers in the air, not so far from him.
"Right, Tengu'sama?" asks the monk with sweet smile plastered in his lips.
Oni-eater tengu keeps silent as he folded his arm across his chest. He keeps his black eyes to the man under him, along with looks-scared-crane. His wings slowly bring him down, the oni-eater tengu landed without noisy. He looks graceful on his white kimono, perhaps the villagers subsided his need of clothes.
"I'm glad able to say my greatest thank to you about the last time, Tengu'sama. If it not you, maybe I'm not able to stand here anymore," says Hotaru tries to act polite.
"You look healthy, human," replies oni-eater tengu shows no impression at all.
"By the way, Tengu'sama. I bring something for us."
Hotaru lifts his right hand and shows a-looks-like-sake-pot. He grins while oni-eater's eyes flick in amusement.
#3 Perception of Beauty
And comes the twilight, Hakutsuru and oni-eater tengu prepare the dinner for Hotaru when Sugino came. The food itself not so special but the sake Hotaru brought had light up the atmosphere.
The dinner is over, the sake pot already empty too. Hotaru sits near window at the tree house. Not so far from him, Hakutsuru chirping maybe it drink too much sake.
"It so lively here, I wonder how many animals that stay awake at night," said the red eyed monk.
His eyes wander on the forest surface below them.
"A lot of, this is summer anyway," comes reply from white winged tengu.
"Enn… I guess so," he smiles sheepishly.
"Now you can go home, Human," says oni-eater tengu coldly.
Hotaru turns his face to him. The oni-eater tengu has black hair and black wings but Hotaru could tell that his heart not that black. He wants to tease him further.
"Forest at night would be dangerous for me, Tengu'sama. If I get killed by wolf, fox or even bear, your help last time would be in vain," Hotaru doesn't forget to add commercial smile in his lips.
"You're so interesting, Ichinomiya'kun," says Sugino.
"So annoying," said oni-eater tengu lazily.
Sugino not to concern about what his friend says since he is already drunk. His face blushes pink and eyes half open half closed; completely different from oni-eater tengu, his eyes still bright. Even tough the light is dim but Hotaru could feel that oni-eater tengu keeps his eyes on him.
Slowly, Hotaru rose from his place and sighs.
"Don't you feel tired, Tengu'sama? Not let your guard down even at night," asks the shorter man while tilted his head.
Oni-eater tengu keeps silent as Hotaru walks closer and closer. Hotaru stops in front of him and kneels down.
"Tell me your name, Tengu'sama."
"What for?" oni-eater tengu switch to more comfortable position.
Eyes glare at monk before him, "You mere human."
Hotaru smiles, he doesn't expecting some kindness from beauty creature that had help him once. In opposite, the black winged tengu surprised by such tender and comforting smiles.
"Everything that have name will make us love it more and more every time we call the name."
Oni-eater tengu looks straight at him, deep into the red eyes. The black haired tengu sure he saw something that sparkles in those eyes. Hotaru keeps watching him when he turns his face away.
"Too bad that I don't have any," says oni-eater tengu with his stoic face.
Hotaru silenced by that confession. He moves his right hand and slowly turns oni-eater face against him again.
"You're joking, right? How can such beauty creature like you don't have any name?"
Oni-eater tengu feels uncomforted when Hotaru leans his face closer. Almost whispering, he says, "That's such a stupidity."
"Up till now I can't forget when you kill the oni. Its blood spilled everywhere, like zakuro's petals. It is so beauty that I often dreamed about you. It is like you bring the spring within your hand."
The creature can feel warmth in his face, not ordinary warmth he used to be. This is more like something that embarrassing him. Nobody says that he is beauty before. If feels so wrong in his ears.
He often heard that Sugino said to be beauty creature for his white wings. When his pure white wings spread and he begun to flew away, his movement was smooth. When he flew away, white feather that fall off without voice also looked beauty. That was the beauty that he had known.
Besides, Hotaru says it like he was the most beauty creature that lived in the world, nothing else. His voice somehow sounds seductive; he could hear nothing but his voice. The voice that completely different from what he used to hear from the monk.
"Say embarrassing line is prohibited!" says oni-eater tengu.
"Een?"
"How can spilled blood called beauty. Your description about beauty is out of sense," hissed him.
Hotaru only chuckles.
#4 Wings That Cover the Moon
"Aa… the star so pretty up there, Tengu'sama," said Hotaru when he accidentally oversees the window.
Hotaru a bit happy that his plan worked, he didn't sure that the tengu could hear his voice but he did. Hotaru tried used some voice that can be heard only by tengu being, he had practiced it for so long. He doesn't know how far his progress since he never met any tengu before.
He steps out the wooden window sill to big branch of the tree; they are still in tree house anyway. The sky so bright that night, it was fool moon. The moon looks so beauty within the star; diving the dark. The air so fresh that sways his white hair away.
Tengu'sama just stare at him, "Hey, it dangerous there."
"Ah, don't worry. I often climbs tree when I was child besides we can better from here."
Not long after saying that, Hotaru comes back to the house.
"Come on, Tengu'sama. Let's go outside," Hotaru pulls the tengu to follow him.
"Why should I?" protest the taller.
"Sugino'sama already sleeps so does Hakutsuru. What is so fun from watching them sleeping?" Hotaru keeps pull the hesitant tengu.
"That's enough, Human."
"Ow, come on, you could call by my name, Tengu'sama. It is Hotaru desu…"
"No."
"Give it a try," Hotaru keeps pushing him with his innocent look.
"No."
"Come o…"
Hotaru's foot slipped from the branch and he lost his balance. Too bad that it happen when he loosens his hold on oni-eater tengu; suddenly, Hotaru fall from the tree. At the first time, Tengu'sama only can see Hotaru's wide hopeless eyes. He looks so desperate that he let his body fall without tries to grab anything.
Hotaru doesn't sure that the tengu will help him again this time. But in the corner of his secret heart, he wished for it to happen. He is a bit disappointed when he saw the tengu just stare at him, not trying to grab his hand.
The air so cold against his skin and the full moon seems far and further. It just stands still on the sky along with the stars. Hotaru thinks that the moon was laughing him when he saw black wings unfold like a curtain that covers him from stars, moon, and anything else. Once again, he fell into darkness.
Then the next thing he feels is warmth of tengu. Oni-eater tengu had caught him before bumps in the ground with his strong arms and trapped him in his embrace. When Hotaru lifts his head, he could see tengu's face above him.
Hotaru thinks that his black hair is perfect, so does his pair of black wing. And the face quite handsome filled with maturity, makes every man would envy him. He looks more adorable under yellow radiance of pale moon, like now when winds playing his hair.
Hotaru reach his hands to hug him back and buried his face on tengu's chest, only clothes that separate them away; Tengu'sama himself rather surprised by Hotaru's act.
"Haruka also means spring, right?" asks Hotaru more to him self.
Instead of releasing him when they landed on tree house, Hotaru lifts his face up against the tengu. His smile looks bitter and sweet at the same time. The smile allures him in indescribable feeling.
"Tell me, Tengu'sama…"
Hotaru's eyes were bright red against him; once again the tengu doesn't know how to describe his feeling that time. It almost feels like the human casts something through his words…
"May I call you Haruka this time forward?"
And through his lips…
"Hnh," said the tengu as an agreement when his mouth tangled with the monk in front of him.
Surprisingly, it doesn't feel strange at all for oni-eater which named Haruka now. He doesn't sure that this is because the shorty had named him 'Haruka'.
Well, maybe we're really drunk…
To be continued…
-xXx-
Hello everybody!! Sorry for the late upload, I've been pretty busy with my new business. Moreover I do it without my Mom knowing, it is legal but she is overprotected sometimes; that's why I love her more and more XD .Once I'm success and get lot of money, I'll use it to eliminate her sadness away.
I wish you like this one too. Please give me your review, pretty please... It will really helpful to increasing my spirit and without any review, I will thought that you dislike this story TT
Anyway, did you enjoy the slight service the scene where they kissing under the full moon. . I like this part a lot. Oh, and for you who didn't get why Hotaru named the tengu 'Haruka', is because the tengu remembered Hotaru of spring. When you think of Haruka, what comes into your mind?
And thankie muchie for reading this story and spent your precise time to write the review. Also thanks for everybody who added my other tactic's fanfic titled 'far' as your favorite!! Cee Yuu at next chapter!!