Fairy AU!
human!Giyu x kelpie!Shinobu
When GIyu's friends invite him to go camping, he doesn't expect to get lost on the first day, to run into a woman whom he'd never thought he'd see again.
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The sour smell of seaweed attacked his nostrils, filling them with a sweet sense of dread. He knew it was a bad idea to let Muichiro plan out his hiking trail, but Gyomei had insisted that they let his nephew do something worthwhile.
"Lost?"
He whirled around, his hand on his hunting knife warily. The woman shifted uneasily but smiled, raising her hands in surrender.
"Calm down," she laughed, "it's a human,"
The way she pronounced human made him raise his eyebrow in confusion.
"I see that you don't really talk..." she mumbled. He shook his head, glaring at her. There were many tales of supernatural creatures that haunted the woods. While he didn't expressively believe in the fae, he couldn't help but feel suspicious, especially since this woman had seaweed in her hair.
Her purple eyes were lit with a bloodthirst that wasn't tamed, her complexion lit with a glow from the thrill of the chase. There was a red stain on the hem of her dress, making him shift.
Why in the hell couldn't he run away?
He glared at her, making no motion to run or to inch closer. She was unnaturally fast for her stature, instead choosing to lean in closer and drag him by the hand. Though his feet felt heavy as lead, he couldn't bring himself to snatch his hand from her grip. She stared at him curiously, his blue eyes intent on getting away from this stranger. The water was getting dangerously close; he could swim fairly well, but with how his feet felt right now?
But he couldn't move.
What the-?
"You can't speak or move, can you?" she asked, sadness tainting her tone. With a wave of her hand, the barrier that had separated his right judgment from his mind-numbing desire to come with her cracked.
He snatched his hand from hers, her grip surprisingly loose for the struggle he had to let go.
"W-What are you?" he gasped out, his throat dry from her spell. She looked guiltily at the ground.
"A fae," she explained shortly. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing her pointed ears, and he stumbled backward.
He had been enchanted with the fae ever since young when his sister had abruptly left after receiving an invitation to party with them forever in the mountains. He should hate them.
But this one seemed so remorseful.
"I don't need to drown you-" she said bluntly, and he winced. She chuckled.
"I don't want to drown you." she corrected herself.
"W-Why?" he asked hoarsely. She shrugged.
"I-I just... feel this burning feeling in my heart," she clutched at her chest helplessly, "I can only feel this weird sensation. Everything else is numb,"
He looked at her. She was heaving in heavy breaths, the bloodlust from earlier gone in the blink of an eye.
He didn't understand.
She looked up at him, pain coating her features, her ears bent forward as if she was hopelessly in love and wishing he would love her back.
"Make it stop!" she clawed at the damp ground, hissing in agony. He bent before her, and she grasped his arm, and he looked down at her in pity.
"What do you feel?" he asked gently. She gazed at him in confusion.
"W-What do I feel?" she stammered. He nodded.
The burning sensation had left her body. She glanced up at him, and the feeling resurfaced.
"It's addicting," she blurted, then covered her mouth. She stood up abruptly.
"What am I saying?" she paced, then pointed accusingly at him.
"What did you do?" she marched up to him, the bloodlust back in her eyes as she bared her fangs.
"Nothing."
"T-This feeling. I-I like this feeling. It's... warm. B-But it's forbidden at the same time," she struggled, stuttering as she could barely explain.
"L-Love?" he suggested, though he was unsure himself. He had never been in love before, he had only ever experienced a small childhood crush on a girl whom he had met after she saved his life when he nearly drowned.
"What is love?" she panicked, "the fae are not supposed to experience love."
"H-Hey," he comfortingly soothed, "it's okay. It's a normal emotion."
"I'd have to go to faerie court," she babbled, clutching at her hair.
"NO!" he yelled, and she stared at him in surprise.
He coughed.
"I-I mean... why is love forbidden?"
"Love is for the weak," she recited, "it's forbidden among the fae. Especially with a human." she peered at him from the corner of her eye, yet he didn't catch her meaning. He sighed, things becoming more complicated by the minute. He scratched the back of his neck, and her breath hitched.
"Where'd you get that?" she pointed at a bracelet of arrowhead around his wrist. The plant had magically stayed alive on his wrist despite the lack of nourishment.
"A girl gave it to me. She rescued me from the river and-"
"I remember you now." she blurted. He chuckled, becoming used to her antics by now.
"Oh really?" he asked, deciding to humor her.
"Y-You fell into the river after rescuing a duck that was stuck in the mud. I- felt... sorry for you."
He shook his head.
"You looked different." he pointed at her, and she smiled sarcastically.
"Can't you give a fae some credit for being young?"
He chuckled and found his head pounding as well. The feelings from his childhood had resurfaced. He winced, staring at the imprint that she had felt on his wrist when she had grabbed it.
"I-I'm sorry," she apologized profusely.
"N-No," he reassured her, though part of him was angry.
"I swear- sometimes I can't snap out of it. I go into a trance as well..." she explained, but he shook his head.
"It's okay, really."
She moved forward, placing her hand gently on his wrist, a bubble of water coating it before it splashed to the ground, covering his socks in mud. She went red.
"S-Sorry!"
He laughed, peering at her through his bangs.
"It's fine, you silly girl."
"Shinobu!" a woman's voice called, and she tensed.
"I-I have to go." she panicked, and he nodded, waving her off.
"Visit often?"
"How?" he asked, puzzled.
"Any body of water. I'll find you." she waved her hand and dissipated into a shower of mist.
"Deal."
