Entry tags:

[FIC] Shounen Onmyouji
Title: Myth and Legend
Rating: G
Warnings: N/A
Word Count: 1557 words
Notes: Shounen Onmyouji: Guren/Masahiro: AU, Age differences, emotional damage: melting the heart of ice. Written for Springkink '08.

The mountain that overlooked the village was large, but not so tall as to be completely impassable. In fact, a small road cut its way up the side of the mountain, though it was seldom used, and, as a result, choked with weeds and riddled with breaks from old mudslides. The state of the road, coupled with the fact that it had the tendency to loop this way and that until anyone traveling it was likely to find themselves completely lost in the mountain's tall forests and steep cliffs, was enough to discourage anyone from using it. But there was another reason that the villagers below avoided the road.

Legend had it that a demon lived at the top of the mountain. He was a creature composed entirely of teeth and claws, fire and death. Anyone foolish enough to travel the path that lead to the demon's home would be snatched up and messily devoured. Every child was frightened into behaving with stories of the gruesome demises met by disobedient children at the mountain demon's hands, but for the most part, the villagers merely regarded the stories as just that-- stories, and nothing more.

But once every hundred years, the villagers began to murmur amongst themselves. Yes, they would say, the demon is just a legend, but-- but!-- what if? What if?

---

Masahiro bit back a yelp as he stumbled over yet another tree root. The hem of his ceremonial robes were already stained with mud and torn around the edges, but there was no one around to chastise him for that. As he carefully picked his way around a bend in the path, he wondered irritably who had decided that white would be a good color for the robes, anyway? Everything showed up on them. Dirt, grass stains, blood-- he swallowed hard. No, it wouldn't do to think about that.

Though the sun was still high in the sky, the forest around him was thick and dark. The high branches of ancient trees blocked out all but the the smallest patches of sunlight, giving the entire scene a sinister look. Each rustling of the branches in the wind, each snapping of a twig caused Masahiro's heart to beat faster and the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up. He didn't want to do this, but turning back now would mean shame and cowardice, and that thought gave him a sour taste in the back of his mouth. As the boy started up a crumbling set of stairs set into the side of one hill, a sudden flash of white to the side of the path made him stop and drop the hems of his robe in shock.

"Far from home, aren't you?"

The voice came from a small creature perched on a tree stump. It was the size of a large cat or maybe a small dog, but the ears were more like those of a rabbit. The crimson marking on its forehead and its glittering eyes made it obvious that this was not a natural animal of any kind. Despite the gloom of the forest, its fur glistened as though it sat in patch of sunlight. As Masahiro stared, it spoke again, leaning forwards as though to get a better look at him.

"Hoooooh, aren't you that seer's grandson, from down in the village? What are you doing here, grandson?" it asked, swishing its long tail from side to side.

The familiar designation was enough to snap Masahiro out of his surprised trance. "My name is Masahiro, not grandson!" he snapped.

One clawed foot came up to scratch behind the creature's ears. It seemed amused by the outburst. "Seer's grandson Masahiro, then!"

"Listen, you--" Masahiro's hands clenched into fists. Belatedly, it occurred to him that getting mad at a spirit, which the animal surely was, but he couldn't bring himself to care. What with his current situation, it seemed somehow unimportant. "I'm-- I'm here because I'm the sacrifice to the mountain demon," he said grudgingly, answering the spirit's earlier question.

The creature laughed. "So, run away, little grandson Masahiro! That's what all the other children did. Or do you intend to let the demon eat you?"

Masahiro shook his head. "Stop calling me that! Anyway, I'm not going to run away. What if the demon gets mad and destroys the village? Everyone's counting on me. Even Grandfather trusted me for this." The old man had given him a secretive but warm smile, resting his hand on Masahiro's head and murmuring how proud he was. Masahiro would know what to do when he met the demon, Seimei had said. Masahiro wasn't so sure about that, but the sentiment warmed him nonetheless.

"Weren't you listening? I said all the other children ran away. Every hundred years, a child gets sent up here, and every time, they just walk to the next village over. And your village hasn't been destroyed yet! I think maybe you humans are a little slow in the head." The spirit jumped from the stump to circle Masahiro's feet, fixing him with a critical gaze.

"Even if that's true, I promised I'd go to the demon." And hadn't everyone in the village admired him for that? Sure, it was a sort of helpless, despairing sort of admiration, but...

At those words, the creature stopped several paces ahead of Masahiro. "You'd give yourself to the demon willingly?" it asked, narrowing its eyes.

"I--" Masahiro hesitated, then held his chin high. "I guess so. Even if I'm killed, I'll be remembered for that, right? This is the first time I've ever been anything other than the Great Seer Seimei's youngest grandson. People finally see me as me."

For a long moment, the creature was silent. Then, in a movement too fast to see, it scrambled up Masahiro's ceremonial robes, its claws digging into the heavy embroidery around the collar as it climbed onto his shoulder. "If you're so sure, little grandson, I'll take you to the demon."

Masahiro swallowed hard, but nodded. The creature was a warm and solid weight on his shoulder, its fur soft against his cheek and neck. "Okay."

The route the creature led him through was not the old and forgotten road the boy had been climbing. Instead, it was a small animal path, worn down by the hooves of passing deer. He was guided by the periodic tightening of claws on his shoulder. They pricked his skin through the thin material of his robe, but never enough to truly hurt him. Masahiro had no idea how long they had been walking, save that the forest around him had darkened considerably. But he couldn't tell if that was from the setting of the sun or the larger, more ancient nature of the surrounding trees.

"We're here."

The whisper of the creature's voice against his ear, breaking through the odd silence of the area nearly made Masahiro jump. "We are?" He could see nothing that marked this particular part of the woods as anything special. Wearily, he wondered if the strange spirit had tricked him.

"Of course. Can't you see?" There was a brief increased pressure against his shoulder as the creature launched itself off. It landed by what had originally appeared to be a plain rock wall, but as the creature moved closer, Masahiro could just make out the entrance to what looked like a cave.

"And the demon?" he asked.

At those words, the creature turned to face him. The darkness of the cave made its eyes appear to glow like burning coals. It bared its teeth, which were needle-sharp. And Masahiro already knew the feel of its claws against his skin.

"Oh," Masahiro said. "Oh, I guess-- well." He wasn't entirely sure what else to say, so instead he bowed low.

In a flash of crimson light, the creature disappeared. Where it had been standing was the figure of a man, dark-skinned and imposing. There was no mistaking him for a human, with the fire-red of his hair and the way his fingers tapered into deadly-looking claws. He fixed Masahiro with a burning gaze. "Still so certain, seer's grandson?"

Masahiro thought back to his grandfather's words. Seimei had never seemed afraid of the demon, nor had he been concerned for the fate of his grandson. And, now that the time had come, Masahiro found that he felt the same. He did know what to do. Stepping forward, he fixed the demon with a smile. "Don't call me grandson," he announced, and walked into the cave.

He bit back a laugh at the demon's shocked look.

---

There still is a village in that valley, as well as a mountain. But the paths leading to its peak are well-tended. Not many villagers know of them, now, nor use them for much. But once a year, there is a festival at the base of the mountain. A small shrine has been erected there to the protector spirits of the village: a firey demon and the young boy who tamed him.

And sometimes, they say, on a certain date each century, the shrine is especially worth visiting. On that day, you might even catch a glimpse of a smiling boy with a small, strange white creature on his shoulder.