Chapter Text
In the mystical realm where the veil between the mundane and the magical is thin, there existed a land of fairies known as Fukusaki. Here, admidst blooming ethereal flowers and everlasting sunlight, was born a princess as unique as the evening star – Sakura-hime. His beauty was singular, with locks of hair as starkly divided as night and day, half ebony and half ivory, mirroring his eyes – one a deep black, the other a shimmering amber. This heterochromatic appearance, though striking, made him the subject of superstition and scorn among his own kind, for they believed it an omen of tumultuous fate.
Despite the ethereal grace of Fukusaki, the young Sakura felt the bite of isolation keenly. His heart yearned not just for acknowledgement but for a place where his talent and spirit could soar unchained. Thus, cloaked under the night sky, he departed his homeland, his sights set upon a realm where merit shaped one’s destiny – the human town of Makochi.
“I’m going to fight my way to the top of Makochi!” declared Sakura as he walked away without looking back.
Makochi was a bustling towm nestled at the crossroads of trade routes and forests, known for its brigade of peacekeepers, the Bofurin. Led by the valiant hero Umemiya, the Bofurin were not merely the town’s guardians but its pride. Sakura, with a heart brave and ambitions high, dreamt of proving his worth and rising as the top fighter within this group. His skills in combat were not just innate but honed with a precision that belied his fairy origins – a realm where magic held sway over martial prowess.
However, life rarely went as you planned. Sakura was surprised at his newly discovered passion for the human cuisine, so he found part-time work at two of Makochi’s beloved establishments: Pathos Café run by Kotoha, and Ori Bar run by Togame and Tomiyama. Every day was fun (something that Sakura could not fathom before). Kotoha, with her gentle wisdom and culinary skills, crafted dishes that spoke to the soul, her omurice – a tender omelette gracefully blanketing a hill of savory fried rice – was a favorite among the knights of Bofurin. Each bite was proof that Makochi possessed a type of magic that far surpassed the enchantments of his native Fukusaki, devoured by Sakura with gusto every time Kotoha put her omurice in front of him.
Down the shadier part of town, Togame and his partner Tomiyama, who first had a scuffle with Sakura when he first came to Makochi, surprisingly offered the heterochromatic boy another delightful part-time job. Togame, known for his intense aura but cool, calm and collected sincerity, concocted a beverage that captured the essence of whimsy itself. His invention, called “ramune”, was not merely a drink but an experience – a bubbly liquid within a glass bottle that popped open with a satisfying clink. The playful challenge of releasing the marble and the effervescent sweetness that followed seemed to Sakura like alchemy in motion, a simple pleasure that awakened the curious cat in him each time as if it were the first.
Both Kotoha and Togame, amused yet fond of Sakura’s voracious appetite, indulged his dietary whim. They sensed the shadows of solitude that had once clouded his day before he came to Makochi and were determined to introduce him to the warmth and light of friendships and familial love. That was why they encouraged Sakura to befriend people from Bofurin (not just baiting them into fights all the time.)
Despite Sakura’s reservation about “friendships”, friendships blossomed in the form of Suo, a strategist in Umemiya’s army, whose mind for warfare was as keen as his love for chaos. Together with Nirei, the town’s young and spirited newspaper boy, they formed a trio of unlikely comrades. Nirei, always darting through the streets with the latest news and gossip and Suo, always smiling as if he knew something everyone else did not, brought a sense of normalcy and connection to Sakura, tethering him to the everyday lives and loves of Makochi’s people. It was now becoming more common for the townspeople to see the trio making their way through the bustling streets of Makochi.
“Sakura-saaan, guess who made the front page today? Kaji-san and his squad defeated a group of bandits yesterday!!! The Bofurin knights are so cool aren’t they? I can’t wait for the moment you become a full member, Sakura-san!”
What Nirei did not know was that Sakura was part of the squad who dealt with the bandits, but Sakura also needed to keep a low profile and avoided being identified as someone with… too much power in this small town. Therefore, he asked Kaji to not mention his involvement to anybody, much less someone as talkative and nosy as Nirei. The heterochromatic fairy played along, cheeks pinked lightly:
“Did they now? I bet I’m stronger than this Kaji guy! Describe him to me so I can challenge him to a fight!” replied Sakura, scratching his pink cheek bashfully to hide what really happened.
“Come ooon Sakura-san, you shouldn’t fight your future comrade!” screamed Nirei, shaking Sakura’s shoulder frantically. “And Kaji-san is really strong, it’s not a good idea to fight him!”
Next to his emotional companions, Suo smiled his usual gentle smiles
“Now now Nirei-kun, I’m sure Sakura-kun is secretly cheering on Bofurin’s victory,” Suo patted Sakura’s back merrily, “right Sakura-kun?”
“Whatever,” there was something about Suo that always made Sakura feel bashful and… shy. There was just that… strange glint in his red red eyes.
“I stopped by Kotoha-san’s place today for some pie but they were already gone,” said Nirei mournfully, both to change the topic and hopefully to get Sakura to talk to Kotoha into making more. “She also told me that the marketplace she usually gets her supply from keeps seeing some of their stock missing this past week.”
“Words on the street are that fairies sometimes take people’s things to brew potions and cast spells,” Suo whispered conspiratorially.
“Are you stupid? Fairies don’t do that!” hissed Sakura, feeling attacked by the comment although he never told anybody what he really was.
“Calm down Sakura-san, I’m sure Suo-san is just making jokes… We never see fairies around here anyway.” Nirei could never wrap his head around Suo’s serious look and his… trolling.
“You seem like you would know, Sakura-kun,” Suo went on like Sakura did not have an outburst. “You’re pretty like one, after all!”
(Suo… did have good reasons to think that Sakura was not a human. If Sakura was not a fairy, Suo’s second guess would be a shapeshifting cat. A very cute, very feral tuxedo cat.)
“You wanna go?! Come at me you asshole!” Face reddening like Kotoha’s ripe tomatoes, Sakura made to jump into Suo’s face but he was held back by a panicking Nirei (although the short blond boy knew his friends were just… playing, mostly.)
Despite his grumpy and spiky comebacks, Sakura did find banters like these… a little enjoyable.
(Sakura was hopelessly, adorably oblivious to Suo’s clear interest in Sakura himself.)
On a beautiful when the sky stretched clear and blue above Makochi, and birds sang cheerful melodies, the tranquility at Pathos Café was tinged with a growing unease. Suo sat at his usual table by the window, sipping herbal tea with an absent gaze, his mind wandering. What would the lovely Sakura-kun look like today?
Kotoha, her brows knit with concern, kept glancing at the clock above the counter. It was unlike Sakura to be late, and today he was already an hour overdue.
Sitting beside Suo, Nirei nervously tapped his fingers on his cup, recalling a conversation from the previous afternoon.
“Kotoha-san, Sakura-san mentioned he was going into the woods to gather a special herb for a new curry recipe,” Nirei’s voice was laced with worry. “I haven’t heard from him since.”
At that moment, Togame walked in and skipped straight to the main point
“Sakura didn’t come in for his shift last night... I can see that he’s not here today either.”
The air in the café grew heavier, the light chatter and clink of dishes fading into a tense silence. It was starting to look like a missing person case, and theories were forming in Suo’s analytical mind. Before he could voice any speculations, Tsugeura, a fellow knight from the Bofurin, burst into the shop, his armor clanking noisily
“Suo-san, there were reports of dark magic from residents living near the woods of Makochi! We need to go!” Tsugeura announced, face grim from his announcement.
Before Suo could move to head out, Togame’s deep voice held him back
“Hey eyepatch,” Togame sounded oddly calm given the situation. There was an easy-going smile on his face, too. “I thought Sakura’s down with a cold or sickness, but if it’s just dark magic he encountered… I think he’ll be just fine.”
Guess Suo was not the only one with inklings of what Sakura was. Not that this information mattered to anybody currently in Kotoha's coffee shop in the grand scheme of things.
Regardless of what Togame said about Sakura’s strength, the image of the adorable Sakura who blushed at the drop of a hat in the presence of a vile being like Endo sparked a chilling anger within Suo.
As they rushed out, Nirei’s face paled, his body beginning to shake in terror at the mention of dark magic. Suo’s usual smile vanished, replaced by a steely resolve that hardened his features. In Makochi, whispers of dark magic conjured one notorious name: Endo. The sorcerer, feared for his merciless heart and volatile powers, was not just a wielder of dark arts but also the loyal companion of Takiishi, a fire-breathing dragon known for its love of destruction and chaos.
Endo and Takiishi’s relationship was as twisted as it was terrifying. Bound by dark spells and mutual desires for mayhem, they were a duo that had haunted the nightmares of many. Takiishi, massive and menacing, with scales dark red as blood and eyes like molten lava, reveled in the destruction that Endo both enabled him to create and conjured himself, feeding off the fear and devastation they caused together. Their bond was too twisted to be called any sort of friendship, but a pact formed in the flames of malevolence, each amplifying the other’s most violent tendencies.
As Suo’s squad galloped towards the woods to investigate the scene, Suo’s mind raced with grim scenarios. If Endo had harmed or taken Sakura, then no amount of fire and fury that Takiishi could unleash would deter Suo’s resolve. (After all, Suo did trade one of his eyes to become… capable of giving serious problems to entities like Endo and Takiishi.)
He turned to his fellow knights, a serene yet eerie smile playing on his lips (that made some of his comrades question whether Suo dabbled in dark arts himself).
“I want to be Sakura-kun's lieutenant someday, so let's show Endo where Sakura-kun belongs to.”
(Suo did not almost say who Sakura belongs to.)