Chapter Text
Humanity had always enticed Shu, even though he knew that he was forbidden to visit, he longed for the life humans had on Earth. After all they were capable of something he never was, creation. So even though it was wrong, Shu still visited the human world whenever he could. He would always stay away from people, even as he longed to live among them, he knew it would be foolish to try and connect with them. This time, however, one young man in particular had caught his attention, and he couldn’t stop himself.
Mika, as he had most days, lurked in the shadows behind the market, hood pulled over his face so the townspeople wouldn’t recognize him. His memorable appearance never helped him in these situations, so he tried to keep his head low while surveying the people. Today, he had his eye on an unfamiliar man, dressed in unusual clothes. His clothes resembled if an alien had tried recreating the way the townspeople dressed using a description alone, almost right, yet so strikingly wrong. Maybe it was a new fad, he thought, but more importantly it looked like the man had money. He slowly approached the unfamiliar person, being careful to avoid eye contact with anyone else. When he was sure the man wasn’t watching, Mika dipped his hand into the bag the stranger was carrying, but to his surprise, the bag was completely empty.
As he was pulling away from the bag, a hand reached out and firmly gripped Mika’s arm. Mika immediately froze, realizing he had been caught. Mika observed the person who had grabbed him, realizing in even more fear it was the person he was attempting to steal from. He could deal with another beating from the townspeople every time he was caught, but he didn’t know what this person could do, especially with the power it appeared he had. The man was tall and slim, with a hollowed-out but immaculately shaped face. If Mika looked closely, the stranger almost seemed to glow.
Shu’s eyes met with the man he had caught rummaging through his bag, which really was just there for show, in an attempt to not raise suspicions. The man was small and frail, not short, but deathly skinny. He appeared unkempt and dirty, though it was hard to tell as he had clearly gone through great lengths to not stand out. Most strikingly however, were his eyes, deep gold and bright blue, they seemed to glitter like jewels when the light hit them. Shu was briefly mesmerized by their beauty, before realizing now was not the time nor the place. The man stood there as if he were stunned, shaking softly in Shu’s grip. He wasn’t very familiar with human emotions, but he assumed this was out of fear. Shu had hoped the man would speak first, as he wasn’t very familiar with human languages, though he had briefly studied as much as he could, he hadn’t had to use it. Unfortunately for him, the man only tried to struggle out of his grip, making little noises to himself and nothing more.
“May I ask what you are doing in my bag?” Shu asked, strengthening his grip while trying his best to not hurt the stranger. “I… erm… thought I saw ya drop somethin’ and I was tryna return it to ya,” the stranger replied, giving him a meek smile. “Do not lie to me. I ask again, what were you doing in my bag?” Shu said firmly, staring into the man’s eyes. “‘M really sorry sir. Ya see, I don’t have much money n’ I can barely afford to survive. Ya look like you have money, so I was tryna see if I steal from ya. ‘M really sorry please punish me however you see fit!” the man stammered out. Shu’s gaze softened, this man really was in a sorry state, but there was nothing he could do to care. He shouldn’t have cared anyways, what did one poor mortal matter to him? But regardless, he felt compelled to help this human in his time of need.
“I see, as much as I would like to offer my help, I seem to have misplaced my wallet. But once that is sorted out, I will assist you as much as I can.” He told the stranger, this wasn’t true, he had no use for human currency and thus didn’t carry it on him. He hoped there was a way for him to get some other way. Man looked at him, stunned for a moment, “Wha- is that really ok? I could never repay ya for this, but thank you! You’re from outta town, aintcha? Without any money ya won't be able to find a place ta stay, so you’re free t’ stay with me, I don’ have much much but it’s better than bein’ out on the street, I think…” Shu hadn’t planned on staying overnight, after all he wasn’t supposed to be down here at all, but something about the man enticed him. “Aren’t you a bit far ahead of yourself? We haven’t even exchanged names, you know.” He figured the man had nothing to lose, but he still found it odd he seemed to have no sense of self-preservation. “Wgah! You’re right, it completely slipped my mind, ‘m Mika!” he replied, holding out his hand expectantly. “Right… My name is Shu Itsuki, it’s nice to meet you,” Shu looked at Mika’s hand for a moment, unsure of what to do with it. He thought had extensively studied human behavior, but he found he still couldn’t grasp how they interacted physically. “Ah, sorry! ‘M kinda dirty so I shouldna assumed you’d wanna shake ma hand…” Mika said, lowering his arm “So, will you come with me?” Shu thought for a moment, he knew it was wrong for him to mingle with a mortal, but something about this one was different. “Yes, I think I will. Thank you Mika.”