Hush


“It is quiet…” Eisen felt unsure of proceeding into the dark of the forest. The silence emanating from the collection of moist trees was most disquieting to the young monk. He took a step into the shadowed ground, almost losing his balance as he felt his foot sink into the mud.

Strangely enough, Eisen was not greeted with the song of birds or the chirping of the crickets as they awoke in the warm afternoon. The damp mist that hung, preserved under the leaves of oaks, made his silk robes cling to his arms uncomfortably.

Eisen hardly noticed, as it was Yasuaki he was looking for, and Yasuaki could only be found if he wanted to be found. Normally, Eisen would just pass the message on to a bird. Yasuaki would appear almost immediately as soon as the bird had left. It had taken a bit of getting used to; the idea of Yasuaki being able to spy on him through any animal of choice.

It was only a small comfort that Yasuaki was not of the sort to use power needlessly.

He still didn’t understand why he had to be the one to find Yasuaki. Surely the Miko deemed him good enough to solve the mystery of the silent forest by himself?

He didn’t particularly dislike the bond Genbu had forged between them. He saw what everyone else saw; they made a strong team, both protecting the other when it was needed. Eisen was simply scared of the intimidating stare in those mismatched eyes. It made him want to be braver; be stronger. The ending result was just a feeling of inadequacy.

This was especially true when the Onmyōji turned from him when he was talking, and retreated into the forest with a detached ‘until tomorrow’.

In the quieted forest, his fingers automatically grabbed for his instrument, and, perhaps in a way to expel quiet like Yasuaki expelled evil, puckered his lips to blow life into a forlorn, enigmatic melody.

His eyes closed, Eisen did not realise where he was going. He forgot the way his clothes would dirty under the trees and mud – something for which he would feel guilty later, when he gave his clothes to the maids – and closed his eyes, lost in his music like a court dancer to the rhythm of the koto.

He stopped when he walked into something warm, too soft to be a tree. Realising who he must’ve walked into, he quickly stepped back, feeling an embarrassed blush spread across his face. Yasuaki quickly caught the flute Eisen dropped in his haste to hide his startled gape behind trembling fingers.

“Here you go.” Slender fingers curled around the small flute before placing it back into his hands carefully. Before he could thank the green-haired man, he’d already turned around again.

Eisen could tell by subtle changes in Yasuaki’s stance that the man was relaxing. The man almost never sat, always on the lookout for danger, but the slight tilt of the shoulders and hips under the heavy robes indicated a slightly less cautious pose. Eisen felt his blush returning again, forcing himself to act as if his traitorous eyes had not just trailed over the supposed location of the man’s hips under the heavy, soaked robes.

“Aren’t you cold?” The moment the words left his lips, Eisen knew it was a foolish thing to ask. Yasuaki never felt anything, and if he did, he would never admit it.

Unsurprisingly, a non-commitical hum was his only response. Eisen followed the stare of the other man, and let out an unguarded puff of air. “Beautiful…” he whispered, his eyes finally taking in the surroundings. Oaks and willows were erratically placed, as if the forest was the setting of a Go board. The forest only parted to make room for the misty lake, richly decorated by lotuses and vines. Less precise than the Royal Gardens, but no less lovely because of it.

The only sound to tickle Eisen’s ears was created by Yasuaki’s bare feet wading through the water. Soft sloshes hit pale skin and weighed down the robes he wore. Eisen, calming under the soothing sounds, felt comfortable enough to sit on a rock next to the freezing water. He knew it would be pointless to warn Yasuaki about the dangers of cold water and slippery stones.

Yasuaki only spared a second to stare at the purple-haired man sitting by the lake, an eyebrow raised at the last whispered words. To him, it was just another place. Nothing more, nothing less. It was not a very good place either, as it was wet, and would damage Eisen’s body if the boy was forced to stay in it for too long. The monk was too susceptible to outside influences, but Yasuaki somehow didn’t mind having to save him from the dangers the boy didn’t even notice.

Eisen almost smiled at the way Yasuaki’s hair looked wet, transforming into a dark green not unlike the wet leaves of the oak trees; it was almost as if Yasuaki belonged here. Eisen stared at his own royal, purple hair colour, and wondered if forest and palace would ever be able to touch.

“Why did you quiet the animals?” Eisen was almost too afraid to ask, and directed his glance at one of the purple lotuses floating on the pond to avoid Yasuaki’s unrelenting stare. He could practically feel the eyes scanning his body. Without realising it, he straightened his shoulders.

“It doesn’t matter.” The lotus was plucked, and Eisen’s stare did not leave it even as it was placed in his hands, the green leaves wetting his palms as the purple petals parted under the warmth of their combined hands.

A single white butterfly fluttered its wings before disappearing into the mist. The twittering of birds finally broke the hushed cloud, and the forest became alive once again.


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