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gastricpierrot · 8 years

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Title: When Stars Align

Series: Daiya no Ace

Pairing: KuraRyou

Rating: T

Summary: Nothing good ever comes out of an intimate relationship between a human and a youkai, Ryousuke knows. He’s heard more than enough stories on betrayal, on disasters, on families being shunned. And being an onmyouji, he knows better than anyone else.

And yet, he lets himself fall.

Warning: what is flow omf

Also on AO3

[Ch.1]

[Ch.2]

Youichi does start getting used to it, eventually.

He learns how to maintain his barrier subconsciously, how to sense when he’s got people visiting his shrine so he can return from his daily wandering, and how to abuse his quick flight to zip back in time and hear the important parts of their prayers. He does feel a little bad at times, though. Pleas for safety and bountiful crops, he can handle; but prayers for a quick or miraculous recovery of a health condition? Not really. Not at all, in fact. It’s outside his specialisation and the villagers should know that already. Mountain tengu are protectors and fighters, but never healers. Yet they go to him, desperate for a salvation he can’t grant.

Sympathizing too much with humans is dangerous, he remembers being warned multiple times over his training. Even a deity is not omnipotent, and to be affected by the struggles of humans would distract them from doing what they can do. It affects their judgements, shakes their resolve to remain impartial. Youichi sighs. This really is difficult.

He turns his attention downwards when he feels a presence approaching his shrine, and nearly falls off his tree when he sees a familiar head of pink hair. What’s Ryousuke doing here this time of the day? Is he here to nag him about something again because Youichi’s sure he’s been doing well so far and he doesn’t exactly need criticism at the moment. But wait—Youichi fights back his instinctive unease and makes himself look properly. His visitor may creepily resemble Ryousuke to a T at first glance, but there’s something about them that’s different. They’re a little… slighter than Ryousuke is, perhaps even younger. Even the air they carry is less prickly, more calming.

“Harucchi! I see him up there!!”

Youichi winces at the loud voice, immediately glaring at the source bounding alongside Ryousuke’s lookalike. He’s considering jumping down to give him a good roundhouse kick on the ass and shut him up until he does a double-take because isn’t he a…?

“Eijun-kun, shhh!” ‘Harucchi’ chides, a finger on his lips. Youichi’s raises his eyebrows. He can see them too? “You’re disturbing the youkai here.”

“He’s glaring at me now!! Harucchi!!” Eijun protests, stabbing a finger at Youichi’s direction. At this point, Youichi is already rolling up his sleeves because god, this kid is annoying. He pauses when Haruichi proceeds to clamp his hand behind Eijun’s head, turns to Youichi’s direction, and drags Eijun into a bow with him. And yeah, definitely Ryousuke’s brother, Youichi thinks. Not many others have the hair, sight, presence and unexpected violence like they do.

“We apologize for the commotion, Youichi-sama,” Haruichi says, ignoring Eijun’s complaints. Well. At least this Kominato has more manners. Also, Youichi can see his eyes, which is a nice contrast to facing his elder brother. It makes him easier to read this way, unlike Ryousuke who always remains so closed off and enigmatic.

“You’re Ryou-san’s brother?” Youichi drops from his perch, landing on the ground with barely a thud. Haruichi straightens, and nods.

“Yes, my name’s Haruichi.” Haruichi doesn’t seem fazed by the recognition at all, as well as the fact that a tengu refers to his brother by honorific. He gestures to his companion next. “And this is Eijun-kun. It’s an honour to finally meet you in person, Youichi-sama.”

Eijun keeps his gaze averted, apparently still grumpy from Haruichi’s rough handling. He crosses his arms tighter across his chest, and mumbles a barely coherent “Hey.”

Youichi sees no reason to hold back with this one. With a high-pitched cackle, he tackles Eijun to the ground, pinning him on his stomach. He then straddles his lower back, and twists his legs back until he begs for mercy.

“Is that how you greet someone of a higher rank than you, huh? Little brat!” Youichi says, though he notices how his words lack bite to them. Eijun makes a string of strangled noises, reaching for Haruichi.

“Harucchi h-help—legs—fal—off— “

And Haruichi, no doubt inheriting the savage Kominato traits, pretends to be extremely interested in a nearby bush.

“Hm? What’s that? You want me to let go?” Youichi asks smugly, leaning closer to Eijun’s head while using his weight to keep him in place. Eijun struggles for a second more before finally going still and submitting to his fate. Youichi, who prides himself in not being as much of a sadist as a certain Ryousuke is, releases him and gets off.

“So.” Youichi straightens his robes and addresses Haruichi. “What brings you here?”

“Ah, right!” Haruichi seems to suddenly remember the basket in his hands. “I brought you some offerings, Youichi-sama. I hope you’d like some steamed buns and oranges.”

His gaze is earnest, his amber eyes bright and perhaps a little bit naive. Youichi catches himself wondering if Ryousuke’s eyes were the same colour. Probably not. He seems to be the kind who’d have the red eyes of a demon.

“S-Sure,” he clears his throat. “I appreciate it, Haruichi.”

Haruichi smiles with so much sweetness that all Youichi can think is how. He’s still baffled over his and Ryou-san’s relation when Haruichi walks over to the still-fallen Eijun and offers a hand.

“Harucchi hates me,” Eijun whines into the dirt, unmoving.

“To be honest, you asked for that,” Haruichi states and okay, maybe the only difference between him and Ryousuke is that Haruichi learnt to be more polite to strangers and elders. Forget Ryou-san’s threat; Youichi has enough self-love to put a healthy amount of distance between him and Haruichi before he ends up being roasted twice the amount.

Eijun’s quick to recover, though, springing upright from his position on the ground with an unnecessary roar after a minute of gentle persuasion from Haruichi’s part. Despite his earlier irritation, Youichi feels a pang of inexplicable fondness in his chest as he watches the two of them interact—maybe even a bit of wistfulness. Must be nice to be so youthful and carefree.

“Huh? Wanna go at it again?” Youichi challenges when Eijun turns to glower at him once more, teeth bared in a sneer. Eijun’s frown deepens as the seconds stretch on, but he doesn’t yell his words when he speaks next.

“I’m sorry,” is all he mumbles before turning back to his companion and ushering him towards the shrine. “Now let’s go and put those on the altar, Harucchi. The sooner we can go back, the better!”

“Ehh, but I want to talk to Youichi-sama for a bit first,” Haruichi protests, letting Eijun drag him by the arm nonetheless. Youichi takes a moment to recover from his stunned daze resulting from Eijun’s apology before moving to join them under the shade of the shrine.

“I’m telling you, this is a terrible idea,” Eijun insists as Haruichi arranges the food across the altar, stealing scowls at Youichi every now and then. He hides behind him as though someone shorter than him by an entire head would be able to defend him from any kind of physical attack. Then again, this is Ryousuke’s sibling they’re talking about, so Youichi figures maybe it’s not all impossible. “You saw how violent he was with me! One wrong word and he’ll probably break your neck or something!”

“Eijun-kun, you’re being loud again,” Haruichi points out with the patience of a saint. He neatly folds the piece of cloth he’s holding and places it in his now-empty basket. “You can just stay behind me if you’re that afraid of him.”

“I’m not afraid of him!”

“Yes, yes.” Haruichi reaches to ruffle his hair. Youichi’s part amused and part intimidated by how perfectly Haruichi has Eijun wrapped around his finger. It takes conscious effort for him to resist flinching when Haruichi turns back to him, though the remorseful look he’s wearing makes him lower his defences once more. “My brother has been really harsh on you, hasn’t he, Youichi-sama?”

Taken by surprise, Youichi nearly stammers. “Well…”

“Even after I asked him to hold back,” Haruichi sighs, mostly to himself. “Aniki sure is a stubborn one.”

“Oh, tell me about it,” Youichi grumbles, rolling his eyes. He crosses his legs, rests an elbow on the side of his knee, and balances his chin with an upturned palm. “I know what he says is mostly true, but is it really necessary to be so blunt? I am still a tengu, geez.”

“How unbecoming of a mountain guardian to be laying his woes to a human,” Eijun whispers conspiringly into Haruichi’s ear, putting little effort into lowering his voice enough to actually make it sound like one. He hisses and shirks further behind Haruichi when Youichi shoots him a death stare.

“Aniki might not sugar-coat his words, but he usually means well,” Haruichi says with a sheepish laugh, holding up his hands in hopes to placate the situation. “Usually.”

“That’s not convincing and you know it,” Youichi points out, feeling much less bitter than he lets on. He’s eventually come to grudgingly admit that Ryousuke was right on a lot of things, and that being told straight out about his mistakes would definitely be more productive. Also, with how things are playing out he’s realized that perhaps the only way to shut up types like him is to go out there and prove him wrong. He appreciates Haruichi for not making any apologies on his brother’s behalf because really, there’s no need for him to do that. Youichi would very much prefer to hear the words from Ryousuke’s own mouth, if anything. Though he knows that’s about as likely as the sun rising from the west, hah.

“Something wrong?” Youichi asks when Haruichi looks at him strangely. In response, Haruichi only shakes his head.

“You don’t seem to dislike him as much I expected, and I’m really glad,” he admits. Then much to Youichi’s horror, he adds, “the two of you might even end up getting along well at this rate.”

“I would prefer not to,” Youichi declares with evident disgust, and Haruichi—the nerve!—only laughs at his expense.

“That’s a shame,” he says, his gaze softening. “Aniki seems to have taken some kind of liking to you, Youichi-sama.”

“Which part of constant verbal abuse proves that he likes me?” Youichi demands, quite unable to process even the slightest possibility of Ryousuke harbouring any kind of fondness towards him. Haruichi shrugs helplessly, like he’s yet to believe what he just said, either.

“Maybe it’s because onii-san’s finally found someone masochistic enough to bear with h—ow!” Eijun’s casual (and unnecessary) suggestion was cut short by a flying orange at his face. Youichi forces himself to take a deep breath as he lowers his hand, refusing to get excessively worked up over this particular matter. For some cursed reason he can’t comprehend, he feels his ears burning from Eijun’s stupid comment.

“Ah, he’s blushing.” Eijun has to be the one to notice first. Before Youichi could think of a way to possibly silence him forever, Haruichi stands up abruptly, making an uncharacteristically loud comment about how it’s getting dark and that they should really stop disturbing Youichi and go back. He then says something to Eijun about reaching home before Aniki scolds him for slacking off, his undertone obvious enough for even Eijun to understand shortly.

“Thank you so much for your company today, Youichi-sama,” Haruichi manages to remember his manners even in his haste to flee before his friend really gets smitten. “We’ll come by again when we can.”

And with that, he drags Eijun away with him, their voices quickly drowned out by the usual noises of the forest as they make their way along the path downhill. Youichi waits to lose sight of them behind the foliage before flopping face-first onto his shrine’s wooden flooring, wishing he could disappear after that mortifying display. He might as well have announced aloud that he’s indeed a masochist.

He really hopes those two are merciful enough to keep it a secret between them.

xXx

Ryousuke stares at the alignment of symbols on his divination board, unease settling in the base of his stomach like dense tar.

Things do not look good. He’s redone the process five times just to be absolutely sure, but he keeps coming to the same conclusion. Some great calamity is about to happen. Ryousuke can’t say for sure what the calamity actually is, but he foresees waves and waves darkness, negativity. Prying into the future has never yielded to much; information is always vague, facts uncertain. Even Ryousuke’s predictions skew at times; what he’s seeing now could simply be another false alarm.

He relies on his instincts when it comes to cases like this. He could sense something bad happening soon—but what and when? Is a high-level youkai going to run rampant and leave a path of destruction in its wake? Will the seal of an entrance to the Other world be broken and unleash Hell’s own forces into his own? Will there be a plague? An uprising? Will something go horribly wrong in the upcoming Hyakki Yagyō? It’s difficult to tell if he can ever predict that far before the event happens. Should he issue a warning now or later? Should he issue one at all? It’s a tough call to make.

“You’re unusually quiet today,” Ryousuke point out without looking, addressing the figure lingering around the door of his office. It shimmers, its form flitting in the shadows as it moves.

“It’s my first time seeing you this unsettled, Ryousuke. Is it really that bad?”

Ryousuke takes his time replying to that, gazing thoughtfully at the inscriptions carved into his divination board. “I can’t say for certain at the moment,” he admits in the end. Then putting some edge into his voice, he turns toward the ghost and adds, “don’t be quick to go around spreading rumours now, Jun.”

“That was one time,” Jun says defensively. When Ryousuke raises an eyebrow at him, he reluctantly confesses, “Fine. That was a lot of times. Heck, you should try being stuck in the same place for a few hundred years with only small insignificant creatures to talk to!”

“Do I have to seal your voice again?” Ryousuke suggests offhandedly, a paper talisman already between his fingers. Jun immediately backs up several steps—or at least it would be several steps if his legs aren’t completely vapour from the knees down.

“Not a single word of this from me will make it out of this room, I promise!” Jun swears with a volume of voice that can probably be heard all the way down the corridor. Ryousuke would really like him to realize that it’s his loudness that usually starts the rumours, but no such luck again today, unfortunately. Jun exhales in obvious relief when Ryousuke tucks his talisman away; he’s lucky Ryousuke’s dealt with Eijun enough to be so lenient. When he speaks again, his tone is grave. “But an event that can worry even you like that…I wonder what could it be?”

“We have no other choice but to wait and see at this point.” Concern creeps into Ryousuke’s voice despite his efforts to sound neutral. It’s his first time coming across an omen as terrible as this; he genuinely hopes he’s being paranoid this time. If something of a huge scale is to happen, lots of damage might be done before it can be stopped.

“Guess so.” Jun crosses his arms, immersed in his own thoughts. Ryousuke shifts to stand up, gathering his tools in his arms.

“Wouldn’t you be glad if it’s something that involves you spirits as well, though?” he says before their silence could take weigh, pushing some scrolls aside in a shelf compartment to make space. He doesn’t want to dwell on the prediction. “Maybe you’ll finally be able to move on if you get eaten, haha.”

“I’m pretty sure it doesn’t work like that??” Jun argues, but the quaver in his voice betrays his worries. Ryousuke hums, sounding indifferent to the outcome either way. “And it’s not like I want to move on. You’d be surprised at how fun it is to watch humans do stupid things almost every single day.”

“As I remember correctly, you were a human once too,” Ryousuke reminds him, giving no signs of being affected by Jun’s general comment. “What’s more, a member of the esteemed Isashiki clan dying because the curse you were trying to break rebounded on you? That’s pathetic.”

“That’s exactly why I can’t move on!” Jun protests, realizing the rise in volume of his voice only when he sees the slight twitch of Ryousuke’s lips. He hastily fixes his tone to a grumble, “everyone I knew should be dead by now and they’ll surely tease me if we meet in the afterlife.”

“Wouldn’t want my fun taken from me,” Ryousuke agrees, promptly coercing a sound of protest from the spirit.

“Which reminds me,” Jun pointedly shifts the focus as he lets Ryousuke walk right through him without as much as a flinch, “I saw the new tengu wandering around the other day. He sure looks like a delinquent, doesn’t he? He even glared at me the moment he saw me! The disrespect!”

“I’m sure that’s your own fault somehow or another,” Ryousuke says, being all-too familiar with Jun’s tendency to yell rude remarks as a show of amiability. You’d think someone who’s around for so long would have learnt to take a hint. “However,” Ryousuke pauses for a second before continuing, “I have to agree that Youichi looks to be quite an unruly one at first glance.”

“Don’t tell me you’ve already tamed him, too.” Jun stares at him incredulously. Ryousuke only smiles.

“Who knows,” he replies airily, pulling out a paper fan to counter the summer heat that assaults his skin the moment he’s out from shade. Jun drifts by his side, expecting an elaboration he isn’t giving. Eventually accepting that he won’t be getting any more out of the onmyouji, Jun loses interest and mutters some excuse to go somewhere else. Ryousuke doesn’t stop him, merely making his way towards the Head Officer’s room to report his findings—or, the less frightening parts of them, at least.

Summer’s a busy period for the Bureau of Onmyou Arts, being the most active season for youkai. Ryousuke has to work extra to prepare for the Hyakki Yagyō that’s expected to pass their village in less than a week’s time, going the lengths to make sure a minimum number of reckless idiots would be spirited away or generally traumatized because they fail to heed his warnings of staying indoors from sundown to sunrise on the particular day. It falls within his responsibility to guide lost spirits as well (which, there are plenty over the months,) sightings of them reported to him by the smaller, harmless youkai that roam the streets.

And sometimes when things get too serious, he’s summoned to the main branch of the Bureau in the Capital City to provide support.

Ryousuke doesn’t want to complain, really. He’d prefer an occasional two-day journey to the Capital over staying there permanently any day. One of the perks of being powerful is that he managed to used that to his favour when fighting for permission to remain in the village where he grew up instead of residing in the Capital like most other onmyouji of his calibre. That place is even more infested with youkai than Youichi’s mountain, and a significant number of them hostile, to boot. As much as Ryousuke loves a good challenge, even he has to draw a line somewhere. Not to mention there are a handful of arrogant deities stationed there whom he doesn’t exactly get along well with. A small number of visits to the Capital was enough to make Ryousuke sick of the place.

But going back to the bit on his summer workload—at least Youichi’s been doing a marginally better job recently. He’s finally starting to produce the impression of a tengu and not an infant youkai stumbling around trying to grasp the workings of the world. Ryousuke also figures that despite all that talk about his duty to keep a firm watch over the mountain especially after sunset, Youichi’s simply not the type to stay still for long when there’s something going on. Twice already Ryousuke has stopped halfway to a scene because he sensed interference from a presence that could only be Youichi’s. He can’t say he didn’t appreciate the help, but he’d be grateful if he could at least give him a heads up before he wastes energy rushing out just to discover an intruder’s already been dealt with. He would very much prefer to save whatever energy he has left by the end of the day for situations where he seriously needs it.

“I think it’d be wise for us to decide on a system,” Ryousuke takes the initiative to suggest when he meets Youichi the next day after yet another night of wasted rushing. He bites back the urge to click his tongue when all he does is look at him in confusion.

“What are you ta— “then realization seems to suddenly hit him— “Oh. That.”

“I don’t suppose you understand how trying it is to have to deliberately leave the house in the middle of the night just to have to turn back midway,” Ryousuke says, edge creeping into his voice. Youichi, to his credit, doesn’t look too intimidated. In fact, he actually looks…defiant.

“But you weren’t fast enough, Ryou-san,” is all he says, his gaze steady.

“You should be aware that you’re the one with the abnormal speed, Youichi,” Ryousuke reminds him, though he couldn’t help feeling slightly satisfied by how Youichi’s standing his ground. He’d genuinely be disappointed if the local guardian turns out to be a spineless wimp. “Look, I know how strong those youkai were and I understand that you’re only playing your role as a protector, but— “

“You can’t expect me to just stay back and wait while things like those are about to storm into your village,” Youichi says, spreading an arm as though gesturing to a living specimen of said “thing” to emphasize his point. He dislodges a couple of feathers along with the movement.

“I expect you to be there if I ever fail,” Ryousuke shoots back calmly. “Or do you lack that much faith in my abilities?”

“I was just worried, alright?” Youichi scratches the back of his neck, seemingly embarrassed by the admission. He ends up mumbling the latter part of what he says. “I was worried that if I’d waited for you, there might not have been anything left for me to protect.”

“I know.” Youichi yelps when Ryousuke lands a sharp chop on his head. “And I don’t expect you to stop feeling so anytime soon, which is why I’m having this conversation with you in the first place.”

“You mean,” Youichi begins reluctantly as he nurses the tender spot Ryousuke just assaulted, “you’re not pissed at me for messing with your job?”

“Frankly, I am getting rather annoyed,” Ryousuke admits, resuming his habit of linking his hands behind his back when he’s idle. Youichi blanches. “But since you’re genuinely thinking about guarding the village in this case, I suppose I shouldn’t make too many comments.”

“Uh, thanks, I guess?”

Ryousuke hums with half-hearted acknowledgement. “As I was saying, I was thinking maybe we should agree on an arrangement of some sort. It’ll be more efficient for the both of us that way.”

Youichi lowers his arms, nodding in full attention. “I’m listening.”

“I’ve placed my own barriers around the outskirts in addition to yours,” Ryousuke goes on, “depending on how strong the intruding youkai is, they should hold for around ten to twenty minutes. I can usually reach the location by then, but if I don’t or there more than three of them trying to break in simultaneously, you’re free to make your move. How does that sound?”

Youichi shrugs. “I can work with that. Though,” he knits his brow, “what happened to that bit on me being the last line of defence that you were so adamant about?”

Ryousuke purses his lips, contemplating if he should tell him. It’ll be a problem if the masses are to know about his prediction, that’s for certain. News of certain disaster will bound to cause widespread panic. But it’s Youichi he’s speaking to now. Ryousuke supposes he of all people has the right to know and prepare for the worst, being the local guardian.

“There might be a time soon where it wouldn’t even matter anymore if we can’t stop them before they reach the people,” he begins after a taking a moment to make sure there aren’t any youkai who’s eavesdropping nearby, careful to voice his words clearly. Taking note of the way Youichi stares at him in utter bafflement, he forges on, “I saw a really disturbing sign earlier today when divining. I can’t be sure what it’ll be, but something terrible is about to happen soon. It’s best that we brace ourselves.”

Youichi’s speechless for the next minute, which is understandable given the bombshell Ryousuke just casually dropped. Ryousuke feels a familiar weight in his chest; talking aloud about his premonition only made his unease well up again. He inhales, forcing the pressure back. He’s grown used to spontaneously handling sudden realizations of negative predictions throughout his career, but none of them have admittedly been as concerning as this.

“…Ryou-san?”

At the tentative call of his name, Ryousuke glances up. “What is it?”

“Are you okay?”

He blinks, taken aback. It’s not something he’s asked often, not by anyone besides Haruichi and occasionally Eijun. In fact, he can’t say he fancies hearing it from anyone other than those two. He’s too used to taking the phrase as belittling, patronizing. Those were words uttered too often by people who saw his struggles as futile, who doubted he could become who he is now even when he gave his all and more. Who laughed at him for trying and trying when they did not even bother.

“What makes you th— “Ryousuke breaks off, and takes another deep breath to calm his abrupt flare of temper. He’s not them, he reminds himself. Youichi isn’t the people of his past. “I’m fine,” he ends up biting out, more than anything.

It’s not like him to lose his cool so easily.

“Hey, it’s pretty normal to be nervous in a situation like this,” Youichi says, raising his hands defensively when Ryousuke stiffens. He’s a surprisingly sharp one. He then laughs a sheepish laugh as though to alleviate the increasingly stifling air around them, reaching to scratch his cheek. “And honestly? Even my palms are sweating like crazy right now after what you said.”

“Didn’t take you for the type who knows how to perceive fear,” Ryousuke confesses, a wayward smile sneaking its way to his lips with unexpected ease when Youichi shoots him a baleful look.

“Didn’t know you’d be the type who knows how to ask for help, either,” he remarks in return, to which Ryousuke finds he’s unable to argue. Youichi grins viciously at his loss of words, evidently triumphant to be able to out-snark him for once. Ryousuke decides to let him bask in his victory this time; he must admit Youichi’s earned it.

“But really—I’m sure we’ll be able to handle it if it’s the two of us,” Youichi continues even after Ryousuke lapses into silence. It’s difficult to tell from his tone if he’s trying to reassure Ryousuke or himself. Or maybe even both. Ryousuke wonders if he too, is able to sense something big happening soon.

“Just don’t hold me back,” he chooses to say in the end. Youichi laughs then; a confident two-toned laugh that befits the avian part of his image.

“You can count on that,” he assures, cracking his knuckles for emphasis. Ryousuke huffs, half weary, half something else he can’t quite put a name to.

“I don’t think I have much of a choice.”

#kuraryou #kominato ryousuke #kuramochi youichi #diamond no ace #daiya no ace #did i mention i love sawaharu because i do i really do #theyre the purest??? and eijun calling ryousan oniisan will never fail to murder me im so weak #also eijun has ryousuke's number???? thats so??? aaaAAAAA #fanfiction

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