Tadashi's mind went blank the second he saw the village guards on the doorstep. He had lost them in the woods; he was sure of it. The forest loved him, and he was fast, and he knew the woods better than any human had a right to. How did they find him? They had no dogs; they couldn't have tracked him down. Unless?

The snow.

There was snow on the ground when he ran into the forest. Oh gods, how could he be so stupid as to forget he would leave footprints in the snow? If he hadn't left a trail, they would've given up, but no. Stupid, stupid, Tadashi just had to forget how snow worked and give his hunters a perfect lead into fae territory. He really was worthless, a detriment to both communities. Maybe, just maybe, if he let them take him back to the village and execute him, they would spare Kei and the fae folk. Yes, he should just turn himself in, craft a story to place the blame on himself, and take the fall.

A hand on his arm snapped Tadashi out of his panicked wallowing. Numbly, Tadashi stumbled along as Kei kicked down the back door and pulled them further into fae territory. Why was Kei doing that, why was he leading the enemy into his homeland? They were running, or Kei was running, and Tadashi was forced to keep pace by the hand on his arm. Kei should just leave him behind; Tadashi would never amount to anything more than dead weight. Still, they ducked and weaved through trees and ran.

The numbness caused the normally nimble Tadashi to stumble over roots and stones, half-buried in snow. Nevertheless, Kei kept them on pace, sprinting with agility and speed humans could not keep up with on foreign terrain. This time, though, they did not lose their hunters. Perhaps the soldiers had grown used to sprinting through the forest, or maybe Tadashi really was slowing Kei down. Either way, the weapon-wielding humans ran hot on their heels.

Tadashi decided to stop looking behind him, instead choosing to face wherever Kei was leading him to. Looking at Kei's face (was Kei his boyfriend? Fiance? Husband? Tadashi wasn't sure) Tadashi saw that the other was speaking, mouth forming words that Tadashi had drowned out in his panic. Try as he might, he just couldn't seem to tune back into the sounds of the world, and Kei's words remained muted and fuzzy as if spoken from a very far away distance. Still, he tried to decipher them, gleaning something about 'help' and 'others'. Whatever Kei's plan was, Tadashi sure hoped it worked.

Rather rapidly, the trees they passed increased in size, more and more resembling Kei's living house. Curious and worried faces peered out of doors and paneless windows, all pointed ears, and sharp teeth, and winding facial patterns. In any other situation Tadashi would've been happy to visit the fae kingdom proper, but seeing the panic on the faces of the fair folk just made him feel more guilt. Kei didn't stop pulling Tadashi, even as the other fae pulled out weapons and clad themselves in armour. Instead, the faerie just led him further into the fae settlement.

As Tadashi forced himself to focus on glowing mushrooms and plush mosses, he heard screams and the clashing of metal. His village had likely brought reinforcements by now and their weapons were all iron, but by the sound of the winding ethereal language being shouted, the fae had their magic at the ready. Through cries of pain and anguish, clashing of metal, and the pointed thwip of arrows, Tadashi allowed himself to hope. Faeries were known to be more powerful than humans, so they must be winning, right?

The sounds of battle started to fade away as Kei led them around and back towards the familiar parts of the forest. Tadashi wanted to stop, to just give up and lie down, but Kei urged him on, both physically and in spirit. Their sharing of names had connected them as no human could ever be, and Tadashi felt Kei's determination to live and keep living seep into his bones like rain onto parched soil. He could push the thoughts away, ignore Kei and instead push his hopelessness onto the both of them, but instead, he trudged forward; he would live for Kei.

Only when they came back to the wisteria pond did Kei allow them to rest. Standing at the edge of the icy pond, Kei grabbed Tadashi's shoulders and spoke again. His words were still fuzzy, but Tadashi put effort into focusing on them, tuning out the rest of the world and focusing on the hands on his shoulders and voice in his ear.

Slowly, the words tuned in, "-shi it's alright, this is no fault of yours, understand? Can you hear me? Everything will be fine, the humans cannot defeat us, everything will be fine.". Kei's words filtered through his mind and Tadashi allowed the reassurances to wash over him. Then, pain.

Instantly, the world was thrust back into a fuzz, this time much more painful. Agony coursed like fire through Tadashi's veins, starting in his gut and spreading rapidly. Warmth seeped from his stomach and lower back and out onto the snow, and he realized the wet heat was blood. Unable to stand the pain any longer, Tadashi sunk down to the ground, collapsing onto his knees and curling inward. But the movement only hurt him more as it jostled the weapon sticking through him. A spear. There was a spear clean through his gut, the iron head sticking out of his body, shining red with viscera. Tadashi gasped and struggled to breathe through the pain as Kei's anguished screams filled his head. Blood was pouring out of him like wine from a keg, bouncing off the pure white snow and steaming slightly where it settled. The contrasting scarlet and white was almost beautiful.

Despite his best efforts to calm down, Tadashi found it harder to breathe. The pain was near unbearable, and every slight movement pt him in more agony. Kei was cradling him, whispering sweet nothings as tears ran down their faces. The world was fading around its edges, turning black and blurry. Not even Kei's glorious face retained its sharpness. Trying to ignore the agonizing sting of movement, Tadashi brought his bloodied hand up to caress his lover's face, smearing crimson on the moon that stared back at him. The pain ebbed away, as did the cold of the winter, instead being replaced with a numb warmth. It was time; Tadashi knew this. He just had a few last words.

Kei could only sob in horror as Tadashi weakly held his face and spoke, "It's alright, Kei. The world would never let us stay together anyways. I've cherished every moment with you."

The life drained out of those beautiful brown eyes, and Kei could do nothing but hold the body closer and weep. He hadn't been quick enough, throwing his knife too slow to prevent the spear from eviscerating his love. The bloody body of the soldier, lying still a short distance away, brought him no comfort.

Screams from his people echoed in Kei's head as he delicately rocked the body against his chest. He should go and fight now, smoke was rising from the center of the forest, he could help douse the fire that it came from. Instead, Kei buried his face in Tadashi's limp hair and sobbed. He stayed there, crying and clinging to the corpse until the body was as cold as the snow around them and the blood coagulated on his hands. The screaming from the center of the forest had stopped, but the smell of smoke and blood blew directly into his face with the change of the wind, the crackling of brittle branches drawing ever closer.

He was still clutching the body when the humans came for him. They beat and mocked him as they put him in shackles. The iron around his wrist and neck, courtesy of the humans, did not burn as many would think; it merely sapped his magic from him, not that he could have brought himself to use any. Kei had no reason to live anymore; his love was still and cold, the forest was silent and alight with the unnatural warmth of man's fire. Nothing to protect, nothing left to love, no reason to fight back as they marched him into town.

The humans looked at him with mixed interest and horror as he was paraded about the town square. They would hold a mock trial for him, but there would be no justice or reason, just a way to use him as a scapegoat of destruction. Kei would not grace them with his words; he spoke only for Tadashi's delight, now he was gone. They tied him to a chair with more chains of iron and skittered back as if he would try to fight, as if he had any will to.

The trial began.

The human priest, a preacher for a false and hypocritical god, questioned him, loud and angry. Kei did not respond to any of the questions and accusations thrown at him, instead opting to look at his future murderers. None of these humans deserved to live, scum and vile things, the lot of them.

Kei could identify a select few, only based on the descriptions Tadashi had given him during their conversation earlier that night. There, at the front, was a petite blonde woman, Yachi; she shook nervously and glared at Kei with combined rage, fear, and envy. Kei could at least feel smug that Tadashi had never loved her back, that his heart had always belonged to Kei. She knew it too, and that is why she glared. Further back, a group of men. One, extremely short, another, tall and burly, the third only extraordinary in his plainness. Noya, Asahi, and Ennoshita, if he was not mistaken. If they were truly Tadashi's friends, they should have tried harder to prevent his death. The final man that Kei recognized, Shimada, looked lost and numb. Tadashi had spoken of his kindness; Kei wondered if he had grown to see Tadashi as a son. It mattered not; all of Tadashi's 'friends' were useless to keep him safe, so they had no worth to Kei.

The trial was over, and Kei hardly processed anything as they tied him to a pyre and doused him in a liquid, oil perhaps. The humans prayed and swayed back and forth as Tadashi's feeble wife held a torch. She had tears in her eyes; Kei did not care. She lowered the torch, and orange billowed up and engulfed Kei.

Searing pain shot through his limbs, consuming him and boiling his blood. The iron shackles around his wrists and ankles grew hot and searing. Already his skin was reddened and blistered. The townspeople were shouting or perhaps singing; Kei did not have the frame of mind to listen to their words. Smoke and ash filled his lungs as skin bubbled and sloughed off the bone. His people burned differently than humans; Kei was sure his entire body was alight like a candle wick. The pain lasted forever and yet a few meager seconds before his vision began to fade.

The world flickered in and out with the fire, voices long since drowned by the burning crackle. Here, alone with his thoughts and pain, Kei would die. Maybe he was hallucinating, but as the fire licked and broiled him, Kei heard the angelic voice of Tadashi.

"Come, my love. It is time for you to leave as well. We still have our adventure to go on. Join me." Kei could almost see his beloved's hand, clean and soft, reaching out to hold his face. Kei closed his eyes, leaned in, and embraced the warmth.

Comforting darkness engulfed him, and then nothing. Death, the finality.