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Atsumu knew better than to put his trust in a human being. As a fox yokai that had been roaming the human realm for the past hundreds of years in search for his “heart”; someone who would love him unconditionally in spite of his form and secondary gender without any ill intentions, the kitsune had only ever experienced heart wrenching pain and anguish, in the process of looking for love and his fated mate, following treachery and betrayal.
It was a price he was not willing to pay for again.
Even if it meant spending his eternal life all alone, without any love or a mate to help him through his heats, Atsumu vowed that he was never going to let a mortal come close to him, or near his heart again.
For kitsunes like himself were rare.
Deemed a prized possession, /treasure/, in the eyes of greedy, conniving humans, the majority were out to capture him for more than just his pelt. Eyeing his rare status as an omega kitsune capable of producing strong offspring and sharing his lifespan with their mate by losing one of their tails, close calls with hunters and all too many past experiences with mortals who had tread into the forest to pique their curiosities before greed overcame them, had taught Atsumu valuable lessons.
Humans were selfish, vile creatures only set out for riches, vanity, achievements, and few could see past their personal greed, for greater good.
They were to be stayed away from at all costs.
Choosing to dwell in a small shrine hidden behind a lush canopy of bamboo trees shielding him from the rest of the world, Atsumu sighed and curled into a ball. He had long resigned to his fate of eternal life by himself.
Even then, he missed his twin, Osamu.
Ever since his brother had moved out, having found his “heart” or what human beings called a ‘soulmate’, Atsumu had been left to care for the shrine by himself. Whilst his cheap happiness came in the peace, tranquillity and nature thriving all around him, so much so that his humble abode called upon foxes of his kind and kits he helped to keep an eye out on, a part of the omega could not deny that there was a fervent longing for company, in the form of a mate, embedded deep in the depths of his heart.
He, too, longed for love. A mate. His own family.
(But Atsumu was never going to admit that aloud.)
“Ya should look for yer mate too, Tsumu,” Osamu had huffed in exasperation before leaving with his “heart”, Suna, sympathy gleaming in his knowing eyes, “I know it hurts losing someone you trusted, but not all humans are-”
“Just go,” Atsumu had spat bitterly in return, glaring sharply at his twin, “Stop rubbing salt in my wounds and be happy, Samu. I’m never trusting the likes of those humans who tried to sell me off.”
Watching as Osamu left with a small sigh and a mortal by his side, it never once crossed Atsumu’s mind that someday, he too would concede to his fate, and accept love.
A mate. A partner.
A tall, brooding young man with thick, luscious curls, who dared to step into his grounds, and his territory, despite hearing how vicious, cunning and unforgiving the fox yokai living in the forest was.
Sakusa Kiyoomi was his name.
Sakusa was unlike the rest of the humans Atsumu had encountered. Stumbling into the shrine he lived in with an urgency, an injured kit with a front leg bloodied and limp, cradled close to his heaving chest, the man with emotive, midnight black eyes that reminded Atsumu of the darkest night sky void of any stars, had enraptured him, leaving the omega slightly breathless for the first time in a long while.
But ever wary of how malicious and rotten mortals in the human realm could be in the presence of deities like himself, one look at the injured fox was enough to make the kitsune see red. Shooting Sakusa an icy glare, paying little attention that the human before him was the son taking over the family ryokan located slightly down the mountain, he pried away the whimpering kit from the mortal gingerly.
Cooing at the baby fox, working his magic that came enshrouded in soft, golden hues to heal him, Atsumu ignored the intensity of Sakusa's stare boring holes into him in what seemed like awe, fascination and interest. The omega flicked his tail self-consciously, and spoke to the kit in a gentle, hushed tone reserved for his kind.
"Yer safe now, little one. No one will hurt ya here," Atsumu purred, nuzzling his cheek against the kit's belly, "Tell me how ya got hurt. I will see to myself that those wrenched beings who dared to set up such dangerous traps so close to our safe place get divine punishment."
Humming in understanding at the yips and chatter that came from the young fox nosing his palm insistently, pointing its snout over to the mortal standing before him, steadfast, poised and strong, a part of Atsumu did not want to believe that the human before him had come to him with good intentions.
But the kit in his arms spoke otherwise, telling him that the kind human had saved her, after seeing it get its leg caught in a trap.
"Why?" Atsumu mumbled, a shudder creeping up his spine, sending his hackles rising, at the way Sakusa's smothering gaze remained transfixed on him.
The kitsune averted his gaze, shifting to the mortal's slim, dexterous fingers. He briefly took note of how Sakusa's fingers were hurt, the skin on his index finger and thumbs torn.
Atsumu's eyes widened a fraction, doubts dissipating momentarily. Something tugged at his heartstrings. Why would any mortal hurt himself in the process of saving a young kit that could've been easily left out to die?
Won't all human beings cruel and selfish, seeing how they had set up such traps, in the very first place?
"The others would've put her down," Sakusa paused, pursing his lips, eyes vast and open with raw earnestness, "I didn’t want that. A kit like her is too young and defenceless to be left out for the dead."
"So ya came to me?" Atsumu sneered, half expecting the mortal before him to ask for compensation in return," What do yer want in exchange?"
"Nothing."
Sakusa cut him off firmly, eyebrows furrowed, lips set into a firm line.
"I don't need anything in exchange for saving a life."
Atsumu sucked in a breath at the conviction laced in the mortal's tone, ears twitching, tail swishing. Hesitating, he glanced down at where Sakusa's fingers were bloody. He bit his lower lip in contemplation.
Not quite knowing why an ache flooded his chest, his gaze flickered back to meet dark, brooding eyes.
"Step forward. Yer hurt."
Reaching out with trembling hands to touch bloodied fingertips, Atsumu couldn't help but flinch when Sakusa stiffened at the contact, before letting down his guard.
It was enough to convince the omega that he wasn't the only one who felt uncomfortable about this.
"T…Thank you for saving her," Atsumu mumbled, slightly sheepish over how he'd acted.
Sakusa blinked, gaze softening, a fond look filling his dark eyes.
“Thank you for tending to her injuries. And mine.”
It had the kitsune's breath hitching in his throat. Never had a human expressed gratitude towards him.
Heart thudding in his chest, cheeks flushing pink, little did Atsumu know that this would be the start to a mortal walking into his life, and the beginnings of finding his "heart".
Atsumu was not used to being showered with so much attention. The good kind, that made him feel like he was being taken care of. Shown affection. Worshipped.
Having put up years and decades of defences and facades to guard himself against humans and protect himself from ever getting hurt by them again, the kitsune wasn’t quite sure what to make of the budding trust and relationship he had formed with a certain mortal, over the months since his first encounter with the young son of the family ryokan just down the mountain.
If the omega dared to be honest about it, Atsumu might have even said that Sakusa was trying to court him.
After their very first encounter, the mortal had stopped by his shrine on a daily basis, bearing gifts that came in different forms. From handmade bar soaps crafted with great care at the ryokan, to home cooked inari sushi that had Atsumu’s ears twitching, perking up in delight at the familiar scent, Sakusa always came with an offering in his hands.
A trinket of some sorts. Gifts that made the kitsune feel shy and abashed, having never experienced what it was like have a mortal so devoted to him, asking for nothing in return.
(None of the gifts compared to the joy surging through the omega’s veins, just having Sakusa’s company.)
Of the many offerings he received from the mortal, if he had to pick one, Atsumu’s favourite was a wooden comb crafted from pine, its handle intricately designed to look like a fox.
Never quite forgetting how it felt giving Sakusa his consent to run the comb through the fur of his tails, shivering slightly when those very dexterous fingers he had healed months ago, brushed against his fur, while it might've started off as an excuse for the mortal to see him again just to express his thanks for having his injuries tended do, Atsumu knew better.
“Come back here again tomorrow. I’ll check on ya wounds.”
A first encounter became a second. Followed by a third. Before Atsumu knew it, seeing Sakusa every day had become part of his routine, so much so that the kitsune even began to look forward to seeing what the mortal brought as a gift the next day.
A respite he got from having company and companionship for a couple of hours each day, Atsumu would be lying if he said that his heart did not flutter at the sight of Sakusa playing around with the other foxes and kits with a look of endearment.
Fond adoration evident in midnight black orbs at one fox in particular, Yumea, the young fox he'd saved, the kitsune was oblivious that it was the exact look the mortal had been giving him for months now.
“Atsumu, is everything alright? You've been staring at me for a while now. ”
The omega flinched, recoiling when he realised just how close Sakusa was, concern etched on his handsome features. Nodding quickly with a forced smile, Atsumu brushed off the mortification of being caught staring at the mortal before him.
When did his distrust towards humans change? When did he start accepting Sakusa’s presence so easily, despite knowing fully well what mortals were capable of? When did the emotions in his heart start shifting towards one that only kept yearning for the man before him?
Fingers twitching restlessly, playing around with the beaded bracelet Sakusa had given him, Atsumu should have known better that moments like these were something short lived, especially when omega kitsunes fell in love with a mortal.
Nothing good ever came out of it.
❗️//Cw: Slight angst + implied violence + implied (attempted) r*pe ❗️
Sakusa knew something was dreadfully wrong the moment he threaded into Atsumu’s humble abode the next day, Yumea, the young kit he'd saved, curled in his chest, yipping loudly, almost anxiously.
Stepping past the shrine gates and taking note of how the front shoji doors to the shrine had been torn apart and forcefully pried open, his stomach dropped, at the trail of crimson red caking the ground, leading up the set of stone steps, and into the shrine Atsumu resided.
There was not a fox or any signs of living presence in sight.
"Atsumu?" Sakusa whispered shakily, a knot of anxiety forming in his throat, something akin to a mix of pure dread and terror gnawing at his insides.
He was met with deafening silence that only made him more unsettled.
Sakusa had been getting ready to step out of his family’s ryokan to pay Atsumu a usual visit, when Yumea had bounded over, nipping at his ankles insistently, whining in distressed, high pitched yelps- almost like she was screaming at him for attention.
Squatting to his knee level to stroke the young fox's snout and appease her, he knew that something wasn't right when she nipped at his fingertips harder than she usually did, whining with her ears folded back, and tried tugging him with all her might, towards the route he usually took to Atsumu’s shrine.
Sensing that something had to be wrong for the young fox to be so perturbed, he bundled Yumea into his arms immediately, and climbed up the mountain, into the dense forest of bamboo shoots with haste. Almost like the day he'd first found the injured baby fox, and knew that only the fox deity in the shrine could help.
He hadn't trusted the people around him to save an animal they deemed a pest.
Growing up, Sakusa had heard of many tales following the kitsune by the name of Miya Atsumu, as a young child. How Atsumu was notorious for being vicious, cunning and sly. How he had charmed both men and women and sent them to their demise. How he was not only a three-tailed fox deity roaming the human realm in search for his “heart", but an omega, which made him exceptionally rare.
Particularly to humans who wanted the kitsune's pelt, his tails in exchange for longevity, and something prized and pretty to own; a treat for sore eyes and itchy hands wanting to cope a touch, in the red light district.
Disgusted by the things he had heard from hunters and other people talking about the things they'd do if they ever got their hands on the kitsune, it had made Sakusa sick to the core.
It made him feel ashamed to be living amidst them.
How could they think of doing such vile things to a fox deity?
Heart thudding in his chest as he ran with all his might, the thought of Atsumu possibly being hurt at this very moment sent a flash of fear surging through Sakusa.
He ran harder, uncaring of the ache- lactic acid building in his legs, and the bile rising to the back of his throat.
He just wanted, no- 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 Atsumu to be safe.
Throwing a quick glance down at the squealing fox in his arms who almost looked like she was crying in anguish and distress, the fear in Sakusa's heart only multiplied. Even then, he tried to keep his composure and coo at Yumea, stroking her fur gently, willing his legs to run faster, against the wind sweeping past his cheeks.
Reaching the fleet of stairs leading up to Atsumu's shrine in no time, the eerie silence greeting him was the very first red flag.
The trail of blood, another.
"Atsumu?" Sakusa raised his voice, calling out for the kitsune he had grown fond of, so much so that he'd started bearing gifts in hopes of courting the omega, after his first encounter with him.
There was still no reply.
Inching forward down the hall that was void of any living presence, Sakusa felt his body gradually going numb with dread the deeper he stepped into the shrine.
The coppery stench of blood was so strong and fresh that it made him sick.
Room by room, he peered into them with growing desperation and uneasiness prickling under the surface of his skin, until he reached the last room that still had its shoji doors shut. Surprisingly intact.
Sakusa held his breath, quivering fingers touching the panes, sliding them open with his heart in his mouth.
"Don't come in!"
He froze in his steps at the sound of Atsumu's snarl, blood going an icy cold in his veins at the sight before him.
Bodies of men slumped over, torn apart, organs spilling out of their flesh, lacerated with sharp claws. The kitsune who had always looked so guarded before he'd gradually opened up, trembling on his knees, naked, his robes shredded off his toned frame, bruises- imprints blossoming across his body.
Sakusa wretched.
The dread and fear surging through his veins morphed into red-hot anger. Pure fury. Wrath.
“𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶?"
❗️//Cw: Slight angst + implied (attempted) r*pe + violence❗️
Atsumu had been expecting company, looking forward to the usual visit from a tall and brooding mortal with a dark set of luscious curls and eyes even darker- an impenetrable midnight black akin to a starless night, but what he hadn't expected was unwelcome company. Or a group of drunk, lecherous men, to tear through the shrine he resided, with malicious intent.
The same group of men who had been setting up traps to catch foxes, and were notorious for frequenting the red light district and the outskirts to prey on both women and men.
Clambering into his humble abode without caring how they were intruding and ruining everything that was a part of his home he had so painstakingly put together with his brother, the last thing the omega ever wanted was for blood to get on his hands again, but there was little Atsumu could do to hold back, when filthy hands reached out to shred the robes and yukata he had on, off his body.
Forcing their weight down on him, holding him down with sneers, laughter and mockery even as he screamed and thrashed in protest, snarling and snapping his jaws at them as an all too familiar mix of icy cold dread, panic and fear washed over him, what pushed the kitsune off the edge and sent his instincts kicking in, was the wandering pair of hands latching onto his hips in a futile attempt to tug the last of his clothes protecting him- his trousers, off of him.
Gnashing his teeth at the man who merely cackled and told him to ‘stay still and be good’, Atsumu lashed out instinctively, sharp claws slashing through flesh with a sickening squelch that had the room smelling of iron and copper all too quickly.
A bloodcurdling scream tore through the room. It was closely followed by the sound of a loud thud- a dismembered hand lolling onto the ground, sliced off clean from the elbow.
The shrill, piercing screech coming from the mortal, had the kitsune sneering back in return.
“ Be good ,” Atsumu parroted with a sneer, eyes blazing with liquid rage as he gathered what was left of his robes and covered his heaving chest, “And 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 fucking touch me. Go back down to where ya mutts belong, and be grateful yer still alive.”
The man who had tried to lay his filthy hands on him before, howled in agony. Even then, he had the cheek to muster a curl to the corners of his lips; a forced, contemptuous smile.
“M-mutts? Y-You're nothing more than a vixen who ought to be bitched and bred full of kits, yourself. How about you give us all of your tails while we're at it? D-don’t worry, we'll be really nice and take good care of you, and 𝘰𝘶𝘳 pups. I'll even forgive you for hurting me.”
The other men chortled in intoxicated laughter, confidence unwavering, assuming that they still had the advantage over him, by having a group of them target him.
Foolish, foolish humans who always thought that they were stronger in numbers, thinking that alone was enough to take on an enraged fox deity who already knew of their misconduct and notoriety.
Atsumu was fueled by a sick, predatory need to punish all of the mortals before him.
"Is that so? How sweet of ya. Unfortunately I'm not as nice. Yer all unforgiven."
It wasn't as though the omega hadn't gone through his fair share of similar experiences, knowing fully well what mortals wanted from him, and how uncaring they were just to be able to obtain the things they wanted. But to go as far as to attempt to take his chastity without his consent?
It was unforgivable.
Even more so, when Atsumu had taken great care in getting freshened up and dressed in his nicest yukata, ears twitching, tails wagging slightly in excitement at the prospects of seeing Sakusa. There hadn't been a day the kitsune did not look forward to meeting him, and be in the presence of his favourite human.
It was all for naught.
His good mood had been destroyed. And somebody had to pay the price for evoking his wrath.
Glaring sharply at the mortals looking at him with belittlement and a salacious glint in their eyes, Atsumu reached out for the closest man who had been laughing the loudest and grabbed the base of his throat in a vice-like grip. Claws digging into the trembling flesh, he sank his nails into the mortal and tore his throat out, taking a good look at the way the light in his widened eyes dimmed, life seeping out of his body.
The air in the room shifted. The laughter died out, replaced by stifling silence. The remaining men trembled in fear and retracted in their steps. But Atsumu was not going to let the same men who had set up traps to catch foxes, and delighted in taking advantage of women and men as they pleased, leave unscathed.
“Who's next?"
Atsumu hadn't meant to take things so far.
Coming to his senses at the putrid, metallic stench of blood and foul reek of waste around him, the eerie pin drop silence falling throughout his room signalled an end to the ringing in his ears, from the shrill cries and screams. Nostrils flaring as the adrenaline thumping through his veins eased, the kitsune glanced at what he had done, with a held breath.
The sight unravelling before him had bile rising to the back of his throat.
It wasn’t often that the kitsune allowed his animalistic nature to take control and reign over his actions, but Atsumu had been fueled by pure liquid rage and sheer instinct alone, to hurt and give back tenfold of the pain the group of men had inflicted on others. While he might have allowed one of the mortals to leave with his face marred, leg mauled, and a few broken fingers as an indication to other humans never to come close to his shrine again, Atsumu knew that sparing that man’s life hadn’t been done out of goodness, mercy or grace.
It was anything but goodwill.
Atsumu faintly recalled the sick, gratifying glee creeping up his spine seeing those lowly mortals beg for their lives and plead for their transgressions. Only for that kindling spark of gratification to spread like wildfire, morphing into a full fledged blaze in his belly. It was a bloodlust that Osamu had always warned him to keep in check, and never to let it go overboard.
Taking in the mess of mangled bodies, crimson red staining the walls and rancid stench, Atsumu could not help but grimace, the gravity of how extreme he’d taken things, leaving his stomach dropping.
Just what had he done?
What was Sakusa ever going to say if he smelled the blood of his kind, on his hands? What was Sakusa ever going to do if he walked in right at this moment and got scared of him? How was Sakusa ever going to react to this… Massacre?
Was he going to tell him that he was a monster, just like the rest of the humans had?
A knot formed at the back of the kitsune’s throat.
Atsumu felt filthy, with the blood of lowly humans on his skin, and the touch of them imprinted on his wrists, ankles and hips. But the omega knew better-
The real reason why he felt so dirty, was how he had reacted to the situation, just like what every mortal had pictured, described, and expected of him.
A minx. An omega. A monster.
/Unlovable./
“Atsumu?”
The kitsune froze, breath hitching in his throat, at the familiar sound of his favourite person’s voice coming from the outside of his shoji door. Breaking his train of thoughts from spiralling any deeper into turmoil, Atsumu implored every living God and prayed that Sakusa was not going to tread into his space, just this once.
"Don't come in!"
The omega did not want the mortal to see him like this. Not when he was at his lowest, more like an animal that had gone feral, than the sweet, feisty fox deity he had come to be in Sakusa’s eyes.
Flinching at the sound of the shoji doors sliding open despite his warning, Atsumu curled into a ball of shame, ears lowered, eyes downcast. Trembling fingers attempting to hold what was left of the yukata he had been looking forward to wear and show off to his favourite mortal, the kitsune half expected Sakusa to be like the rest of the humans who had been frightened out of their wits, calling him a monster after seeing what he had done.
In spite of the other part of him hoping that just this once, a mortal he liked, and came to love, would accept him even at his ugliest, the last thing Atsumu expected was for a snarl, powered by so much anger, resentment and wrath, to tear through a usually calm and composed Sakusa.
“𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶?"
Atsumu was slightly stumped and stifled of his speech, even as Sakusa made a quick move to put a whining Yumea down, before removing his hakama with shaking hands, kneeling by his side, and covering him with it. Leaning into his space without any care of the bloodshed around them, the concerned, near-frenzied look in dark, all encompassing eyes had Atsumu’s eyes watering.
Even more so, at the familiar heat- slim, dexterous fingers reaching out to cup his cheek with a painful tenderness.
“I’m a monster.”
The quiet admission whispered under the kitsune’s breath earned him a chilly glare. Boring through his body with an icy frostiness, almost like hell had frozen over, Atsumu did not want to cry or show his weaknesses.
How afraid he had been when the group of men infiltrated his home and attempted to force themselves on him. How afraid he was of being alone. How afraid he was of hoping for more- his “heart”, soulmate and companion, from the mortal before him, only to be shunned, loathed and hated.
𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.
Atsumu could not hold back the tears running down his cheeks in rivulets, or the quiver in his lips, muffled sob now audible, as he burst into tears, when Sakusa looked at him the same way he always had.
A soft look of fondness reserved for him.
“You’re not a monster, Atsumu. You’re you,” Sakusa murmured kindly, inching forward, uncaring of the slaughter around them, or the blood staining the kitsune’s claws, “And I love that about you.”
“But I-”
“They hurt you, Atsumu. They had it coming,” Sakusa growled, jaw pulling taut, obsidian black eyes flashing with heat and an intensity that had Atsumu’s breath hitching in his throat at the unexpected vehemence coming from the mortal.
“I-”
“I would have done the same if I saw them ever trying to force themselves on you-” Sakusa’s voice cracked, open honesty laid bare in his glistening eyes as his gaze swept across the expanse of the kitsune’s body, littered with purpling imprints, “God- I was terrified that something happened to you. I was scared out of my wits. I felt… Powerless. I knew I had to get to you when Yumea came over. I’m sorry I didn’t get here fast enough. But I’m here now, and I have no intentions to leave.”
A choked sob emitted from Atsumu’s parted lips. He couldn’t comprehend why Sakusa was so concerned about his well-being when he was fully capable of defending himself against mortals who were out to get him. Neither could he quite understand how the mortal could pay little to no care about their surroundings, dark onyx eyes merely transfixed on him.
Atsumu dared to hope, his treacherous heart telling him that the mortal kneeling before him, cradling him with so much care, endearment and love that it ached, was unlike others.
That Sakusa Kiyoomi was his love, and his “heart”.
“Y…Yer won’t leave e-even if I’m a- /𝘵𝘩𝘦/ notorious fox deity the other mortals warned ya about? Even if I..I’ve killed mortals and I’m not one of your kind?” Atsumu mumbled, gaze unsure.
Midnight black eyes softened, pooling with unadulterated affection the kitsune thought he had only seen fixated on Yumea, who nudged her snout against his side, whining at the whole ordeal.
“You do realise that I’ve been trying to court you for the past six months, haven’t you, Atsumu?” Sakusa murmured with a fond smile, “I love you. If it’s a heart you’re after, at least make mine your last.”
Atsumu took in a shuddering inhale, honeyed eyes watery. Tails wagging slightly, wrapping around Sakusa’s wrist to tug him closer, he whispered.
“I'm yours, if you'll still have me."