Chapter Text
He was named Hinata of the Nagla Village.
He was a boy of fury, orange hair, of wide eyes and small bones. He was a human, and one slim enough to fit through the cracks of the forest barrier.
That’s what the birds told him.
And the snakes, and the rabbits, and sometimes, even the trees.
It’s funny how loud a forest could be. Hinata had never noticed. Whether it was the trills of crows, the high pitched calls of male cicadas or the simple ruffling of leaves, it was never quiet.
And of course, the voices added to the noise. Strange couldn’t begin to describe what he could hear. It was amazing - surreal - how the animals could speak like something out of a fable, except their mouths didn’t move and their whispers came in unison. The hushed, married chants bounced off the towering trees, echoing for miles. Sometimes, Hinata would close his eyes and just listen. Instead of ordinary noise and words, they became something of a melody.
“Berries for dinner again, huh?” Hinata’s own voice was dull in comparison. Ironically, back home, he was known as the bubbly merchant who could chirp for hours about a single wooden bowl, his distinct bartering able to be heard from across the streets.
Hinata’s attention had landed on a sturdy-looking beech with a crow perched on one of its branches. He approached them with the fruits cradled by his shirt. Unlike the other woodland birds who tilted their heads or hopped closer in curiosity, the crow didn’t react to Hinata’s presence. It sat still and regal as a statue.
“That’s okay,” he continued, knowing the crow wouldn’t acknowledge him. “I’m sure tomorrow I’ll find something better. Maybe something with meat on it . . .”
He drooled at the thought and had to wipe his mouth before settling against the crow’s tree. One by one, he let the juices fill his mouth with the odd flavor of the berries. They were sweet, sour and spicy all at once. Nothing at the village had ever tasted like this. At best, a chunk of pork might taste close to the intense flavors if left sitting under the sun long enough, but after days of eating nothing but the same kind of berries, day-old spoiled meat almost sounded as good as meat buns from Toralei. Almost .
Anyways, killing for meat was no good - not when the animals in the forest could talk like humans.
Or ghosts .
The thought sent a shiver through his spine.
Right, more like spirits, Hinata supposed. He popped the last red berry into his mouth.
“Guess I’ll just sleep the craving off,” he told the silent bird. “You won’t mind if I use your tree for a bit, right?”
He hauled himself up onto the branch with ease. He’d always been good at climbing. As a kid, Hinata had never lost racing up trees to other children, and when he’d reach the very top, he’d be taller than any of them. He couldn’t stand being short, so he prided himself with the nickname Small Giant . Even now, he felt light as a feather snaking up tall structures (not that he grew by very much, anyway).
The crow watched Hinata enter his space, but didn’t budge from its spot. How stubborn.
The tree’s canopy had enough gaps to glimpse the night sky. Even though Hinata was in some place foreign, the sky still looked the same as back in the village; it was clear, still, and except for the moon and the stars, perfectly, perfectly black. He reached up to trace a constellation he taught Natsu. It was the Hydra, the heaven’s largest constellation and his sister’s favorite, the serpent monster with many heads. He wondered if Natsu was looking at it now. Then he cringed at the thought. Of course she’s not, you idiot.
But soon, soon he’d show her the constellations again and teach her new ones. Hinata turned to the crow still watching him, the moonlight illuminating the vanes of its feathers. “You’re good spirits, right? I hope you forgive me for disturbing your home,” he told it, “but there’s something here that my sister really needs to get better.” He doesn’t say more because perhaps, they already knew, just like how they knew his name.
At night, the air grew cold and the animals grew louder, informing him of his nature: orange hair, wide eyes, small bones.
Human.
Human.
Human.
Hinata woke up to a giant beetle glaring at him.
He screamed, forgetting where he was and landed face-first onto the ground.
“ Dammit ,” he groaned into the dirt.
As the days dragged on, the search felt more and more hopeless. His only substinance were the berries and water from questionable puddles - streams, if he was lucky - plus, the beetle that landed on his nose had left a heck of a bite. It was hard to focus on his surroundings when there was a colossal, red bump right under his eyes. Not to mention, Hinata now had to travel with a sprained ankle from diving off the tree. The only thing he could be thankful for was that the trees took away the pain of the beating sun.
With a sigh, he laid his makeshift stick-cane beside him as he crouched down to gather water from a puddle. Enchanted forests rejected those with too much property on their bodies to enter. At least, that’s what people said. So besides clothing, a canteen was the only possession Hinata brought with him. Well, he had pieces of bread in his pockets too, but didn’t bother to ration those when he found the berries.
Man, he didn’t think he’d actually miss plain, old, tasteless bread.
The puddle was thinning out. Resigning for half-parched lips, Hinata left the rest of the water in the canteen and hoisted himself up with the cane. Ahead, was another crow on a branch. Hinata decided that this was the crows’ forest because everywhere he went, there’d always be a black bird watching him. Or maybe - MAYBE!! - it’s been the same crow following - no - guiding him? Hinata’s eyes lit up. Then, fell when he neared the crow and realized that the tree looked familiar.
Or maybe , he’d just been limping around in circles coming by the same tree again and again. Hinata wanted to scream.
In retrospect, this was never a good idea to begin with. The rumor-legend said that there was a plant in the enchanted forest with healing abilities. And . . . Hinata didn’t exactly know where in the forest it was or what it exactly looked like, but something with magical healing powers would be all glowy and sparkly, right?
The enchanted forest was located so close to home - it was practically Hinata’s backyard - that it would have been awful of him to not at least try. When Natsu suddenly lost her sight, she cried for hours. Then, days and weeks until she finally accepted her fate. Hinata couldn’t do it. Natsu was an artist . She created paintings that wealthy merchants traveled for and carved bowls baronesses drank out of. No matter what, Hinata was going to find a way to let Natsu see again.
He should’ve been more prepared: investigated if the plant was actually real or nothing but drunk village talk, marked the trees or something so he knew if he was seeing the same crow or not, and came with more food.
Learned to not be freaked out by overly friendly bugs , Hinata added to the list.
“ So, where to, now?”
The animals, of course, didn’t answer him back. Unconcerned, they continued whispering his name and his traits as Hinata walked their forest.
. . . slim enough to fit through the cracks of the forest barrier.
He wondered what they meant by that. Was the forest surrounded by an invisible wall that Hinata was able to pass because of his size? If so, for once, Hinata was glad he was small.
HERE!
“What?” Hinata stopped his tracks. He swerved to meet the voice.
There was no animal there. No human. No one - except . . . a tree. It was an oak, large and isolated. The grass around it was short and cleared of any weed or underwood, like it was being tended for.
Was it magic?
That must be it - the healing plant!
Forgetting about his sprained ankle, Hinata dropped his cane and rushed to the oak. Out of nowhere, he stumbled back, landing on his butt from the impact. Oww . He looked up to see nothing there between him and the oak that could have caused him to fall back.
Was it an invisible wall?
“The barrier!” Hinata exclaimed, jumping up to investigate it.
“ Damn, you’re excited. ”
It was that voice from before. Crisp and clear like moonlight. Not an animal.
Hinata timidly rounded the tree, avoiding the barrier. “Who-who is it?”
Then, Hinata saw it - saw him . His hair was black as charcoal, dark bangs fallen over his bowed head. His clothing - if they could even be still be called that - were nothing but bits and pieces of garments hanging around his legs and body, revealing a faded scar across his torso. But it was his arms - his arms - that took Hinata’s breath away. Everything he was seemed to be flesh and muscle, but his arms looked to be carved into the tree, like they were a part of its far-reaching leaves. Hinata took a step back, taking it all in. This person was a part of the oak. There was something so majestic in the way the branches - his arms - spanned into the open sky. He was a bird in mid flight. Nothing had ever looked more . . . more . . .
“Pretty,” Hinata breathed.
“What?” The oak-person lazily raised his head to meet Hinata’s gaze. His eyes were even darker than his hair - if that was possible.
“You’re human,” the stranger stated.
Human.
“Y-yeah. You’re not?” Hinata asked, dumbly.
The oak-person scoffed. “What do you think?”
“I think - oh!” It almost slipped his mind. “Are you the healing plant?” Hinata’s fingers twitched with anticipation. He was tired and hungry and he’d been looking around, lost, for so long. Please, please, please be it.
“So, what if I am?” The oak-person questioned as he leaned forward, his arms locking him in place. An aggravated frown crossed his face. “How about, if I heal you, you let me go.”
“Okay.” Hinata didn’t give it a second thought. “But, it’s not for me. My sis-” Suddenly, leaves from the oak bended down from their branches and brushed against Hinata, hasty and rough that it shoved him back down on his bottom.
“Hey!” Hinata bursted. “What was that for?”
“You feel better, right?” The oak-person answered, head held high. “Now, be a good kid and break the barrier.”
“No.” He didn’t even know how. “You didn’t let me finish my sentence. I didn’t want to be healed. My sister, she’s blind and I want her to see again.”
Hinata stood up, the pain in his left ankle dissipated and the annoying bite on his nose gone. Actually, besides his head boiling in frustration, he felt better than ever, like he could run and climb trees for hours. Not that he would, he wasn’t a child anymore. He didn’t like being mistaken for one, either.
“And I’m not a kid,” he added.
“Heal my sister, and I’ll let you out.”
The oak-person gawked in disbelief. “You - you have no idea who you’re talking to, do you? I’m a demon . I could eat you, flesh and bones, curse your family, rain down blood from the skies and drown your whole village.”
Whoa . Hinata was talking to a demon. All along, the plant with healing abilities had been a demon. A demon stuck to a tree.
“Inside your barrier?”
“What?”
“You can curse my family inside your barrier,” Hinata clarified.
He saw the demon’s eye twitch.
Bingo.
“Well, it looks like I don’t have business here, anymore. Thank you, for healing my ankle by the way. It’ll make the trip home easier.”
With that, Hinata spun on his heels and began walking away from the demon.
“Wait!”
Hinata couldn’t help but display the widest, most teasing grin on his face as he turned around. “Yes?”
“Fine,” the demon conceded, his face glowered in contrast. “Release me from this barrier, and in exchange, I’ll heal your sister’s blindness. Nothing more.”
“That’s all I wanted,” Hinata said. “Then, it’s a deal?”
The demon’s eyes widened.
”A deal,” he confirmed.
“Great. But, how exactly do I get you out of the barrier?” Hinata walked up to the invisible force, stretching his hand out to it until his palm landed on something solid in the air. So this was the barrier.
“It’s already been weakened,” the demon began explaining. “The barrier. All you have to do is find the crack, fit through, and break it from the inside.”
“Roger.”
Hinata encircled the tree, palming the barrier up and down, for what seemed like the hundredth time. The sun was already setting, casting dark figures that made the forest seem colder than it already was at night. With a demon beside him, the shadows became even more ominous. And, Hinata had noted long ago, that the animals had stopped talking to him.
“Shit. Have you found it yet?”
“I told you, this is practically impossible when I can’t even see what I’m looking for.”
“What are you going on about? People can’t usually see what they’re looking for. That’s why they’re trying to find it.”
This damned demon.
Finally, Hinata’s fingers slipped in closer to the oak. “Hey! I think I found it.”
He heard the demon sigh in relief from the other side of the tree. “Okay, now just squeeze in through that crack - you should be able to do it by prying it a bit more open. Then, when you’re inside, push at the barrier with all your force. Got it?”
“Yup.” Hinata was already wrestling with the barrier, which was actually somewhat pliable, but still too tough with his his bare hands. But he wasn’t going to give up. He couldn’t. He came all the way here to cure Natsu, and he was so, so close, if only . . . he could . . . open . . . it . . . just a bit . . . more.
Hinata did it.
Quickly, arms trembling, he squeezed in, clutching the tough barrier open for himself, close to tears from the pressure crushing body, then he let go, letting the hole snap back to its original size. He fell forward onto the oak, heaving. He almost wanted to just stay there, hold onto the tree and never leave. That was too much for his small bones.
“Stop hugging the tree and move it, Idiot.”
Right. The demon was right. The quicker they got this over with, the quicker they could go and heal Natsu. Forcing his legs to stop shaking, he turned to face the invisible thing that almost wrang him alive. Ahead, he could see the forest: trees, still from the lack of wind, a squirrel silently nibbling on its snack, a crow, sitting a branch and watching him. Just one big push. With all his might, Hinata ran forward and rammed into the barrier.
A crack. Like glass shattering.
Hinata, probably breaking the record for total times fell in seventy-two hours, landed on his stomach with a thud. This time, he allowed himself the tiny bit of luxury of staying where he was, absorbing the coolness of the ground. He dug his face into the grass, still breathless.
“Never again,” he mumbled.
The demon, freed from the oak, walked over to the human, uneasy. On the nape of the boy’s neck was a black bird, a crow, wings spread in mid flight.
It was the mark of a contract with a Karasuno demon.