The path had been long and winding, and though Hidan had tried to count the many turns and paths Daichi took, soon he had lost track and just had to concentrate on the journey instead. Branches swung in their faces, bushes scratched at their clothes, and weeds and roots threatened to trip Daichi, but he was surefooted and didn’t stumble once. But the further they went on, the closer the trees became, weaving their way across the paths and darkening the atmosphere around them, until they had to bend and weave their way through the trees in almost pure darkness.
A little while later and Hidan saw a flash of light ahead. At first he dismissed it, thinking it was just his eyes playing tricks on him, it was so dark, but when Daichi began to quicken his pace, Hidan started to think otherwise and focused onto the light. They ran towards it, Tsukai and Daichi looking perfectly at home and giving all their attention to the light in front of them, making Hidan think they were just about there, something that was reinforced as Tsukai sat up straighter, looked around and listened. She seemed calm here, her tension when with the villagers all but gone.
And something struck him at this.
When near civilisation, her muscles were always tensed up, ready for action. But she didn’t seem so wary here though. With the wind flying past them as they rode, it hit Tsukai full on, and she closed her eyes and breathed it in, sensing something he couldn’t. It wasn’t strange to Hidan how she was the temple guardian now, and was fluent at the language of the temple. She was almost like a forest spirit, walking through it, and helping lost travellers on their way. It was her home. That sheen that her skin had taken on when he had eaten that plant had come back, making her glow with a white light and when she opened her eyes, they seemed to shine like lanterns and a sudden suspicion that there was something deep that made them shine like that erupted within him.
“Hey, Hidan. You okay? You look a little weird.”
Snapping out of it, Hidan shook his head and laughed it off, instantly replying he was fine. He hadn’t meant to stare...it was just hard not to. Forcing down a sheepishness he didn’t often have, he looked away and thanked the closeness of the trees around him to hide his abrupt nerves and embarrassment. Friends they may have been, but that didn’t mean teasing was completely out of the question at something either one of them found funny.
Hidan was just about to try and start a conversation to get away from that previous fact of him staring, when Tsukai saved the both of them, pointing out as they ran,
“If we had been on foot, we would have had to have gone another way. See? The animal tracks. We couldn’t have disturbed them on foot.” Looking down, Hidan saw several different tracks of animals; carnivores, herbivores or both. Wondering how big they all were, and seeing some pretty massive track marks, he was oblivious to the fact that Tsukai smiled softly at him, then shook her head and turned back to the path ahead.
Hidan stopped looking at the tracks a few minutes later, as it began to get darker and darker, making it difficult after a while to see the back of her head. The trees were almost a wall now, and Daichi barely slowed. Blinking in surprise and confusion at the idea of going straight into this mass of branches and thorns, Hidan was about to question the idea, when Tsukai glanced over her shoulder and with a half-smile said simply,
“Duck your head down. And cling on with your legs.”
Flicking his gaze upward, Hidan saw it wasn’t too far to get to the light—and whatever the source was. It was just the problem of getting to it in the first place. Wondering how exactly Daichi was planning to do this when he was a pretty big wolf, Hidan eyes widened in surprise as he began to weave and dodge round the brambles and branches easily, bending through gaps in them Hidan hadn’t even seen. Tsukai smiled to herself, though she couldn’t actually see his face, just knowing what his reaction was to it.
The smile didn’t fade until Daichi finally stopped on the other side, the brambles having cleared. Hopping off, she turned to Hidan and watched as he did the same, staring at what was in front of him in awe and in disbelief. On the other side of the bramble, there was a curtain of willow leaves, which was so thick you couldn’t see through it to make out details, all that shone through being faint glimmers of light. It was created by the many willow trees stood to the sides, all the branches overlapping to create this effect, giving it the look of a giant glowing green wall. In a sense, it almost looked like a door to another world entirely.
Hidan couldn’t help but stop and stare for a while, wondering why it felt so special, until Tsukai jolted him out of it as she whispered,
“Come on,” before pulling back the curtains, Hidan stepping on through behind. It took a while for his eyes to adjust to the change in light intensity, but when they did, his mouth dropped open as he gaped in surprise. That grove he had stayed in wasn’t the only place that carried a higher power.
Hidden by the willow trees, there was a clearing with a waterfall and a small lake, the water itself seemingly shining with light. Bird calls that materialised from nowhere flocked to his ears, some flitting around as well as numerous butterflies and other creatures.
But that wasn’t what Hidan was looking at.
It was the wolves. There were several of them, some drinking from the water, others playing in it. A few were eating a meat he couldn’t name, and others licking the faces of their children, who fought and struggled to get away from this indignity. But they were all huge—some smaller than Daichi, others bigger. He had been amazed upon seeing the size of Daichi, but a whole pack...it was indescribable, and for a few minutes he couldn’t say a word as they all turned, intense eyes all gazing upon him as they searched his very spirit.
“Uh…Hidan?” Tsukai finally said, placing a hand on his shoulder to wake him up, a proud and joyful smile on her face, knowing he was awed by something very close to her heart. Pausing for a moment as he resurfaced, she questioned as he looked round at her,
“Do you like it?”
“This…place…is…it’s fucking amazing!” He exclaimed in return, his look of shock turning into one of glee. Grinning with him, she led him onwards, shaking her head as he blurted a second later,
“I never figured there’d be any wolves bigger than Daichi.., but shit, was I proved wrong.”
Laughing, Tsukai glanced back, a glint in her eyes, as she raised an eyebrow and replied simply,
“Are you fucking kidding me? These are young ones. Daichi, in human years, would be about...13, 14. You just wait till you see their parents. My summoning animal. He’ll fucking blow you away.”
Unable to respond to her words and the idea of there being a bigger one than the ones he had seen already, he shook his head and followed on, as Tsukai led him over to a cave nearby, to the side of the waterfall. Hidan could only guess it was where they all slept at night. As they walked, a female wolf began to make its way closer to them both. Though at first Hidan didn’t notice her, as she came right up close and nudged his hand he blinked and smiled down at her.
Halting, he stated a greeting, one which he doubted she could even understand, she began to twirl around him like a cat, making yipping noises that he could only assume were statements aimed at him. Tsukai paused with him, turning round to watch as she did so. For a moment she stayed silent, until an adrenalin she had never felt before awakened in her body, and lunging forward, she growled fiercely at the wolf, pushing her away from Hidan and standing between them both. Continuing to growl, though a little less vicious than before, the female wolf flattened her ears in submission, backing away slowly and then running off.
As she disappeared, the adrenalin vanished as quickly as it had come, and blinking as it left her body, Tsukai glanced around the clearing at the wolves all smirking to themselves, and turning to see Hidan looking a little confused at her sudden outburst, she winced at how he must have seen it, and not understanding it herself, felt just as bewildered as he looked.
Why had she reacted in such a fierce way to her, forcing her away from Hidan?
And why, even when the thought hadn’t passed through her mind, did she find herself saying ‘He’s mine’?
