#rendering faces is so hard i gave up halfway TwT

[rapidhighway]

lalalalaaaa i know people give him normal gloves and stuff when they do human designs him but god i need these gloves they are everything to me

[thecatwhogrins]

To Be Human (part 3)

Part 1 / Part 2

Okay last one! I’ve been studying for my finals next week, so I’m sorry if this wasn’t up to the usual standards TwT I might rewrite some of this later and post it on my AO3, but for now please enjoy this trainwreck haha.

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From then on, Obi started to live with Shirayuki at the tavern, in case Raji’s men were to bother her again. Upon seeing him, most of the men steered clear, especially since the first batch to have gone up against Obi came back limping and groaning in pain.

Obi helped in the tavern, jolly and always ready to spin a tale, usually of his own repertory of stories he had been part of, or so he claimed. The women came by more often than usual to admire Obi’s roguish good looks. Business was good and Shirayuki felt almost drunk with happiness.

One night, after the tavern had closed for the night, Shirayuki sat on the tatami mats, cleaning the tables, humming to herself. Obi entered the room carrying a bottle of sake and a set of glossy cups.

“Fancy a drink, little miss?” he laughed, eyes glinting.

The way he was looking at Shirayuki stirred something inside of her. Her whole body tingled, awareness taking over, making her blush.

“Sure, let’s drink to this beautiful night” she cheered, her gaze on the brightness of the full moon outside.

They sat side by side silently, absorbed in their drinks, unspoken words hanging between them, the moment so peaceful until Obi broke the quiet with a question.

“Miss, will you miss when I go back to the mountain?” his voice was barely over a whisper.

“Yes, Obi, more than you’ll ever know,” she answered, almost as quietly.

Shirayuki almost unleashed a squeak when Obi’s hand covered hers, gaining a loud laugh from Obi.

“Oh dear, miss, I’m sorry for scaring you!” he exclaimed, his hands up, “don’t worry, I’m not leaving for a while yet, I still have to fulfill my share of good deeds.”

“It’s okay Obi, I was just surprised,” she smiled, “yes, we still have time,”Shirayuki said this, but her heart said otherwise, an unseen pain gnawing away inside of her.

Both of their hearts were thundering away.

“Let me bring these to the kitchen,” muttered Obi, deftly getting up. At the same time, Shirayuki stood up as well, trying to reach for the platter.

“Woah there!” Obi tried to stop her from falling but let go of the sake bottle and the cups.

As a result, both collided and ended up in a heap on the floor, laughing till their stomachs ached. Obi was almost crying, he was chuckling so hard. Shirayuki’s cheeks were redder than her hair, her laughter was intoxicating, all dimples and giggles.

The laughter had barely started to die down and before she could stop herself, Shirayuki had reached out and kissed Obi. He swallowed his mirth and shock took its place. The kiss was short and Shirayuki looked at him, appraising her dearest friend’s reaction, full of hope and trepidation.

She was pleased when he swept her up into his arms sweetly, her hands grasping his yukata, her lips almost curved into a smile. He kissed hesitantly at first, then with abandon, gentle but passionate. He bit her lip gently and she shivered, gasping. He kissed down the column of her neck, and she tugged the hard bristles of his hair softly, breathless.

The smell of something burning brought them back to earth.

*

Obi had located the source of the fire but by then the highly flammable wooden inn was already halfway burnt, the shell of what once was.  

“Someone’s has set fire to one of the rooms!” cried Obi, running out of the tavern, cloth in front of his mouth and nose to protect himself from the fumes. Shirayuki had done the same.

Confusion and fear rolled around Shirayuki’s head, her eyes were watering.

The instigator made himself known once Obi and Shirayuki turned around, it was of course Lord Raji’s men.

*

Seeing Obi fight was not something Shirayuki was accustomed to. His lithe body and grace now made sense, as she witnessed his precise movements, his accuracy while he almost danced around his opponents. Obi had no weapons on him, nothing to parry the blows, but he never gave in, the cuts his enemies administered seemed to only be minor inconveniences. He was eerily beautiful.

More importantly, Obi didn’t kill even one of them.

He simply incapacitated them, rendered them unconscious. The scale was decidedly tipped in the enemies’ favor, but he fought valiantly. Shirayuki helping in the best way she could. She hit a few men with a branch she had found on the floor, her fighting style slow but efficient.  

It felt like an eternity until all of the men were lying on the floor, the only sounds Shirayuki and Obi’s panting breaths. Calm came back, almost unnerving after the chaos of the fight.

“Uh, I remember them being harder to beat, seems humans have grown soft,” he chuckled.

Shirayuki stared in horror as Obi started to fall forwards. His eyes met hers calmly, his whole body already going limp.

“No! Obi!” she grasped his strong frame with shaking hands, her mind reeling. She rested him on her lap carefully. She knew just by one look that her healing skills would not be enough, he had been cut so many times/ Obi seemed to know this too.

“Miss, look. I didn’t kill even one of them low-lives,” he gasped, his breath rasping. Shirayuki wanted to tell him that she was proud, that she had always known he would be able to do it, but she could only sob, one hand clamped over her mouth.

“Oh no, you’re crying…Please don’t cry,” his fingers hovered by her face, but he finally touched her cheek, cupping her face and wiping one of her tears away.

Shirayuki sucked in a breath, wiped her tears hastily and was about to tell him she wouldn’t cry anymore, but her words got blocked in her throat like dam blocking the flow of a river.

He wasn’t breathing.

To her horror, his cold body started to disintegrate into ashes, like dandelion seeds dispersing through the air. Shirayuki tried grasping onto the fragments but they disappeared. Obi had told her his soul would disintegrate if he died.

How unfair. It’s as if he had never even existed.

Shirayuki wept like a child, like the whole world could swallow her and she wouldn’t care. The pain in her chest was acute, like a bird pecking repeatedly at an open wound. She didn’t know how long she stayed in the meadow, but she stayed till night draped itself over the sky and her breath exhaled white against the still air.

In the end, Obi hadn’t turned back into a Tengu. Even if he had turned into one, it at least meant he was still alive, out there, somewhere, sailing on the winds. But he was dead. She would never see his cat-like grin ever again. She would never hear his teasing voice or see his clever eyes analyze everything. There was still the slight possibility that he would reincarnate. Had they done enough good deeds? Could he reincarnate? Her questions remained unanswered.

When the moon finally bathed the meadow in its pearly luminescence, Shirayuki finally moved, as though she had just been wakened from a long dream. She shivered and turned towards her home that had been burned to the grounds. The night was fair, the peaceful end to a spring day.

“Where to now?” Shirayuki whispered, looking around.

The wind blew into the inky sky, sweeping away the last of her tears with it.

“I will live on, Obi. Until we meet again,” she whispered, desolate but alive.

*

Shiayuki lived.

She opened an herbalist shop in town. After the fight, Raji’s men did not bother her anymore. Much like her grandmother, she kept up the tradition of bringing offerings to the temple that was on the path up the mountain. Black lacquered bowls, brazed meats, rice and incense.

But the bowls were always full when she came to fetch them at night.

Many a night she’d wake up before dawn, shivering, dreams of a tall man with amber eyes pervading her dreams. When she’d awaken he was gone, like smoke. Most days were spent in a similar manner, wondering, hoping.

One night, as Shirayuki came to fetch the bowls, she noticed a figure standing in front of the temple, praying. She did not wish to disturb the stranger but noticed that the food was gone. She rushed towards the offerings, grumbling. Had a forest animal eaten them all? Or maybe a vagrant? As Shirayuki pondered in wonder, the praying man with the golden eyes spoke up.

“Thank you for the food, miss, it was delicious.”

Shirayuki nearly dropped the platter she was holding.