The weather was as gloomy as the people around Sun for the next weeks as he and Yukaru prepared to leave. Being busy every day as they balanced their final duties with stocking up on food, water and medicinal herbs was one thing, but the confrontations were the truly draining part. Yukaru’s expression was dejected and in pain the day following her announcement to her family, and Sun could only imagine what the surly, down to earth blacksmith’s reaction was to such an outrageous want.
Sun’s announcement hadn’t fared much better when it was his time to say it, and he wished that his parents had been adamantly against it rather than see the look on their eyes. Fear, apprehension, and a sudden realization of how old they were. Sun felt a heavy weight on his gut as he looked to his parents, suddenly noticing every wrinkle and white hair that the dark times and hard work just to survive had given them. His father, Endon, took a deep deep sigh as he looked down from his chair straight at the ground. His mother, Sharn, had her lips pursed and her head held high, but the wet gleam of tears betrayed her emotions.
“It’s no world for a young man out there, Sun. Especially not now,” Endon mumbled. “It’s no world for anyone, really. I understand why you might want to go to the capitol, make something more of yourself, but there’s no glory in war, boy.”
“...I’m not going for glory, father,” Sun clenched his fists on his knees as he gathered up his thoughts. “I want to help. This endless winter, the demons on the roads, everything...I feel that, somehow, the answer to it may be away from here. And the bandit from before...Tsukahagi the Poisonous. How could he be back? I struck him down! And when I did...We had sun, and warmth. For a while. Maybe that’s a sign of what I must do.”
“Let someone else worry about stray bandits and wandering spirits, boy. Will you hunt down this madman all over the country? Is it about some newfound bloodlust? Is that why you’ve been swinging that sword all this time?” Endon snapped.
“Leaving home to commit such things can only lead to more darkness, Sun,” Sharn said. “Is this really what you want? More death?”
“It’s not about that!” Sun slapped his hand against his knee in frustration, clenching his teeth. He could feel heat going up his cheeks. “Listen to me! Mother, father, please! That bandit, I told you before, he wasn’t human! If me and Yukaru hadn’t stepped up...Who knows what he could have done? No village is safe with something like that around! But I...I did it, with her help, I struck him down. I saved us, and now I learned that my job is not done. I rested here, thinking I’d helped the world in this small way, but then...He’s back. And ever since he spoke about those mayakashi, I just….I know that I have to find out more. I feel it deep inside me that there’s more to this, that this cursed winter is related to them. Yes, I want to strike Tsukahagi down once and for all, but that’s not the only reason why I want to leave! I am not leaving to seek death!”
Sun hadn’t realized how hard he had been clenching his hands until his fingers started to hurt and he could feel his nails digging into his palms. Sun took a long, deep breath and forced himself to relax before he looked at his parents once more.
“...I, am not leaving, to seek death. I am leaving to seek life,” Sun looked from his mother to his father as his pulse slowed down. “Life for everyone that’s been threatened by this winter. Life for everyone that Tsukahagi might terrorize, because I couldn’t put him down once and for all. Life for… For you as well. I wish for you to see the sun and the summer as they were before my birth, too. The way to acquire this life is by finding out why all of this is happening, I feel it.”
The air was tense as Sun straightened himself up, looking at his parents. His vision was ever so hazy as he kneeled down, put his hands on the floor and carefully lowered his head until it touched the floorboards.
“I love both of you dearly. And I don’t want to bring any shame or disappointment to you. Mother, father, you have housed me, raised me, and loved me and I’ll always love you and be thankful for everything you have done.” Sun then raised his head, with an expression that was like stone, and fire behind his eyes. “But I will go, no matter what. I have made my decision, and I beg you to understand. It….I feel as though it is my responsibility. And, I shall, I shall not run from it.”
Sun stood up, with a clump heavy within his throat. He clenched his teeth to keep his voice steady and bowed once to both of his parents, before turning to leave the house. There was still a lot to do before he was ready to leave, but at the time, he just knew he had to give himself and his family some space.
After leaving his home, Sun wandered throughout Tayou. The chilling wind against his flushed expression felt oddly pleasant, and it made wiping the small tears away easy. He breathed in deeply as many times as he could to force his body to stop tensing up, and his heart to slow down, his mind to think of anything else but the ending of the conversation that was still to come.
When the chill became too much to bear, Sun made his way to the watering hole. The sounds of people, clinking of glasses and promise of warmth sounded great, in theory; in practice, when he entered the establishment and saw everyone there, he found that he wanted nothing more than to be literally anywhere else. Still, no point in going back out to freeze in his misery, and it would be impolite to let the cold air back inside without at least buying something. Sun forced himself to walk to the counter and take a seat, and give a weak smile to old Tom the bartender that hurried to give him a drink as soon as he recognize his white hair amidst the crowd and assure him that if he needed absolutely anything, he just had to ask and not to worry. Sun noticed, slightly awkwardly, that the bartender was trying too hard, and looked back over his shoulder towards Sun when he moved away.
Sun rapped his fingers on the counter as he took a drink. Off the corner of his eyes, sometimes he’d catch other villagers giving him looks. Not bad looks, but in some ways it was worse. Looks of expectation.
“Hey! Sun, the hero himself, fancy seeing you here! Hey, can I buy you that? Lemme cover it for you!”
Sun was knocked off his thoughts by the approach of some of the village youth, three young men that had volunteered after him and Yukaru to take up the sword and defend the village: Yuki, Riku and Biro. Yuki was the one that took a seat by him and gave him a friendly smile, but he was oddly stiff, Sun noticed.
“Oh. Oh, uh, hey Yuki. I appreciate it but Tom said it’s on the house. I can maybe get you one instead?” Sun offered.
“Oh, come on, I couldn’t coast off on you like that. You’re just too goody, man,” Yuki shook his head, but Riku and Biro exchanged a thoughtful look. Sun chuckled weakly and waved Tom down, pointing to the boys around him and receiving a nod.
“Don’t worry about it, just have a drink with me. It’s better shared, right?” Sun said, and coughed after it. He couldn’t exactly believe himself saying it in his current mood, but he wasn’t about to show it and chase friendly faces away. He took a swig from his drink as Tom brought over a few more mugs, but gave the three other boys a stern look that told them not to push their luck with free rounds. As Tom moved away, Yuki leaned in close to Sun, frowning.
“So...Is it true?”
“What is?” Sun asked, looking down at his drink as he spun the cup a bit before taking a swig.
“You and Yukaru. Are you two...you know?” Yuki asked, causing Sun to breathe in and choke on his drink, coughing some of it out of his nose.
“We what?! What's with that question?” Sun said amidst coughing.
“Hey dude, no, it makes sense! Look, we’ve seen you two go at it, it checks out right?” Riku nodded to himself, in a very matter of factly way.
“What do you mean go at it? What have you been-- have you been following us or something?” Sun asked, horrified.
“Dude, you don’t even try to hide it, what are you talking about?” Biro looked at Sun as if he’d grown a second head and took another swig of his drink.
“Look, I don’t know what you guys are talking about but none of this is tr-- Well, I mean...No! None of it is true, alright, so don’t go...Don’t go just saying things like that,” Sun ran his hand over his face and up his hair to push it out of the way. “Yukaru would kill all of us for that, so you just drop it.”
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Sun, are you okay? She’s the one who told us, she’s not hiding it.”
“What do you mean she’s not-- there’s nothing to hide! I mean, there’s no reason to...We’re not…WE are not.”
“So you’re not leaving the village together to go to the capitol? You two have been going at the sword training routine every day.” Yuki lifted one eyebrow. Sun looked at him straight in the eyes for about five seconds, and he could feel the weight of the years he’d lost of his lifespan in the past thirty seconds of conversation catching up to him. Sun then finished his glass in one swift motion.
“We...are! Yes! Yes,” Sun nodded very assertively and extended one finger from the hand he was holding the glass with towards Yuki. “That is, true, yes. I thought...Nevermind. I’ve had a long few days and didn’t understand you. Yes. Yes, we...are leaving Tayou.”
“Looking for greener pastures, huh? I’m sure you can make it big in the capitol. I’m happy for you, hero,” Yuki nodded. “Makes sense that you’re leaving, too.”
“Well, I….What do you mean by that?” Sun frowned as the last remark caught up to him.
“Well, you were always bound to grow too big for this place. Come on, Sun. Look at you! Got a house dropped on you and you’re still walking! Always thought the white hair was just some weird birth thing but it must’ve been a sign,” Riku slapped Sun’s back with a wild grin. “You’re just built different.”
“I don’t mean to try to pass this off as fake modesty, but come on guys. I got lucky then. I don’t know why but I’m still just like you all and everyone here,” Sun shook his head. “I was born here. You’ve known me since I was a kid. You know I’m just me.”
They smiled and nodded, and gave Sun pats on the back. But he still noticed the general stiffness to them, and the looks they had were full of expectation. Sun’s stomach sunk a little as he tried as he could, but couldn’t find the same look of familiarity that they’d shared.
When Sun left the establishment later, he felt like his worries had just been piled upon, suddenly feeling very self conscious of what he’d been doing for the past year. As the chilly wind buffeted his face and Sun walked home, he pinched a lock of his hair and pulled it down in front of his eyes, trying to look at it. White.
“What did he mean, weird?”
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Sun had hoped that he would have the chance to sneak in quietly and simply go directly to bed, but when he carefully opened the door, his father was sitting by the fire, gaze lost within the flickering flames. Sun took a deep breath before walking in, ready for one final round of sermons.
“Father…”
“When you reach Okini, son, make a stop at the Temple of the Sun.”
Sun blinked and stopped his entire body mid-movement as if he had hit a brick wall. Endon sighed, lacing his fingers together as he kept looking at the fireplace.
“I don’t understand a lot of what has become of the world, son. I stand by what I said before,” Endon said sternly, without turning back to look at Sun. “But also. You are a man now and you have made your decision, it seems. I don’t have the age or the disposition to try and stop you, and I’ve already said my piece. If you are going regardless, as your father, I can only help guide you one last time. The first town bigger than a village on the way to the capitol is Okini, and there, the temple of the sun stands. Asking for help of the gods has always been an important part of our lives, yours more so than others. So pay your respects.”
“What do you mean, for my life more so than others?” Sun asked carefully, not wanting to say the wrong thing and change his father’s current disposition.
“Before you were born, we went to pray at that temple for you. So you would be born strong and healthy, and well, I do believe that it’s by the grace of the gods that it happened so. It was a dark winter, that one. We needed all the blessings we could get,” Endon sighed, lost in memories. “Obviously, your mother and I have plenty of faith that the prayer is the reason for some of your characteristics. Maybe it will give you good luck and safety on your travels, son.”
“I...will do that, father. Thank you,” Sun said, and then frowned. “I’m sorry, what characteristics are you talking about?”
“You have white hair at 18 years old and don't get cold, boy. Think for a moment.”
“My... hair isn’t from our family? But all those paintings of my grandparents that you showed me, they had white hair too. Didn’t I get it from them?”
“Boy. Their hair was white because they were old.” Endon finally shot a look back to his son, his eyes filled with annoyance. “It should be more than obvious. Did you really never think about it? Wipe that dumb look off your face and get out of my sight before I change my mind about giving you anything.”
Sun realigned his jaw as quickly as he could, and after giving his father a short bow, excused himself to his room. Sleep didn’t come fast, and when it did, it was full of confusing dreams.
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The final days that Sun spent in Taiyou seemed short, rushed, and filled with a quiet anxiety. Everything that he had always been surrounded by suddenly seemed much more significant, and the little details that made home what it was were all suddenly very apparent now that he was about to leave it all. The way he so naturally weaved through the houses to get to where he wanted to go, to the point where he could walk from one end to another blindfolded with no problems. The spot by one of the wells where the rare ray of sunshine hit more often. His own room, familiar to him like it was an extension of his body, and the quiet peace he always had within it. All the little details added up, small needles prickling at his spirit when he thought about how long it might be until he could experience it all again. And still, his decision was made.
The wind was cold when the time had come, but the sky was clear. The final goodbye to his parents was much quicker than Sun would’ve hoped for or imagined; a couple of tight hugs. Precious few kind words of love and caution. One final look before turning around, and then each step taking him farther away from his home, to meet with Yukaru and start the long journey throughout the country.
He found her in front of the blacksmith’s shop, helping load crates into a wagon. Sun gave her a confused look as their eyes met.
“What is all this? Final errands for your parents?”
“Better than that. My father wasn’t too happy about it at first, but after some convincing, well...He goes to Okini a few times a year to sell his work. He will see us off there and give us a ride on the wagon,” Yukaru heaved one final crate that produced the unmistakable sound of metal clanking against metal, wiping some sweat off her brow. “It should be much faster than walking, too. We’ll need to continue on our own past Okini, though.”
“That’s excellent news!” Sun perked up immediately, brimming. He had expected a couple of long, cold weeks on the road as they travelled by foot. “I must thank him.”
Yukaru’s father, the ever-stern blacksmith of the village, exited the house just then with heavy leather gloves, a whip, and a naturally occuring scowl that could sour milk on the spot. Sun’s grateful smile faltered under the gruff look he received in return as he thanked the blacksmith profusely and bowed his head. Sun got no response other than a grumble and a nod of acknowledgement before Yukaru’s father moved away to ready the animals for the wagon.
“Don’t think too much of it,” Yukaru said after seeing Sun’s dejected expression as they climbed on the back of the wagon. “It’s a sour spot for him, still. Me leaving like this. He’s not happy, but he does respect you, Sun.”
“Does your father blame me for you leaving?”
“It’s my decision. I have made that as clear to him as I have made it to you,” Yukaru answered firmly.
Before long, everything was ready. With the crack of a whip, the wagon started to move throughout the village. Sun and Yukaru both fell silent as they absorbed in the sight one last time, trying to commit to memory as many details as they could, even when the wagon moved past the village entrance and slowly left it behind. Both of them were silent until the sight of the gates finally disappeared after a turn on the road.
“...Well, this is it,” Yukaru said. “We are officially on the way. It starts here. Once we reach Okini, we should seek out further transportation, or try to buy horses if we can. It will take far too long to reach the capitol on foot.”
“Before that, I want to visit the Temple of the Sun there. I believe I might find something interesting there, and we should both pray for a safe journey,” Sun added, pulling down his hair to take another look. “My father told me that I have some connections to that place from even before I was born, so I would like to see it with my own eyes. And...I have a question for you.”
“Yes?”
“Should I wear a hood?” Sun was frowning as he looked up to the lock he had pinched between his fingers. “I thought that it was just a matter of chance that no one else had white hair at my age, but uh...Apparently it’s not normal.”
“You didn’t know that? Sun, for god’s sake…”
“I really didn’t! I thought it was a family thing!” Sun answered with real exasperation. “I’d rather not draw attention wherever I go. So I thought that covering it up would be better.”
“We will already be travelling with swords at our hips, Sun. Covering up your head might just make you look suspicious,” Yukaru had an amused expression. “No, just leave it out. It’s not that weird. But if you really don’t like showing your hair, there’s another option.”
“What is it?”
“I could rub some dirt on it for you until it’s black.”
Sun looked at Yukaru. The girl’s expression held no hint of sarcasm for an impressive full ten seconds before Yukaru’s lips started to curve upward and she broke out into laughter at Sun’s overly worried expression. It was contagious, and soon Sun was chuckling as well, which then turned into full blown laughter. It felt great to finally have an outlet for the stress of the past few days; both of them laughed away as the wagon made its way down the road, leaving their home farther and farther away.