A child lay unmoving in a puddle of blood.

“Kohaku!”

A sobbing boy ran toward this child, his wretched cries echoing in the air.

“No, no! Don’t leave me behind!”

The boy helped Kohaku sit up and cradled his bloody body in his arms. “Don’t leave me alone!” he begged.

“Stop...crying...” Kohaku murmured.

“Why, Kohaku? How did things come to this?!”

“Stop crying,” Kohaku rasped once more, his voice halting. “I liked your face better...when you smiled.” He gave the tearful boy a small smile of his own.

“Kohaku?! Kohaku! No, wait! Please, stop! How could this...? Kohaku!”

Warmth seeped away from Kohaku’s body, and the boy could do nothing to stop it. He was utterly powerless. All he could do was bear witness to the life fading before his very eyes.

“Someone...! Someone help Kohaku, please! I’ll do anything! Don’t take Kohaku from me!”

His desperate pleas reverberated in the empty silence, but no one heard them. The time the two boys could have spent together was lost forever.

At least, that was what should have happened.

***

The glamorous banquet for the chieftains of the beastfolk tribes was held once every few years. Though many looked forward to this event, Kohaku was not one of them. He didn’t understand what was so fun about gathering and making merry like this.

The surrounding conversations from the various tribe leaders were also an utter bore. If they weren’t discussing how that youth from such and such tribe had kidnapped a human, they were gossiping about how a chieftain’s mate had dumped them and left. None of the lowbrow topics they raised were worth convening to chat about in person. Yet Kohaku’s sharp ears picked up every useless word out of their mouths, which put him in an even fouler mood.

His hair, which he’d tied in a high ponytail, fell over his shoulder, and he pushed it back. All the surrounding chieftains’ heads were adorned with intricate crowns, but only a braided rope decorated Kohaku’s hair. This was hardly a surprise, though—under normal circumstances, he should never have been at this party. Kohaku gazed down at his reflection in his cup and narrowed his eyes. His tight ponytail was tugging the corners of his eyes upward, which gave him a rather stern expression.

The White Tiger Clan was a courageous tribe, and many of its members boasted muscular physiques. People even considered that to be a hereditary trait of theirs. But Kohaku didn’t have that sort of frame. His appearance was more feminine, something he’d inherited from his late mother. White hair was also a distinguishing feature of those in the White Tiger Clan, but Kohaku had black hair—and was the only one with that color. His golden eyes were the sole physical characteristic he shared with his kinsmen.

As a child, he’d suffered through teasing and bullying thanks to his unique looks, and it wasn’t rare for others to suspect that he wasn’t a real member of the White Tiger Clan. No matter how much he trained and exercised, his slender body refused to build any muscle. Lately, he’d given up on improving his appearance. And besides, even if he did change his looks to resemble the other members of the White Tiger Clan, that wouldn’t change how they treated him.

His neglected hair fell beside his face in unruly waves and curls. He wrapped a strand around his finger. It’s as hideous as always, he thought as he averted his gaze from his reflection. He must have damaged his hair while exterminating the demon the other day, since during the fight, his curls had caught on fire. He wished he could cut his annoying long hair, but because hair housed magic, he couldn’t, lest he weaken himself.

Bored out of his mind, Kohaku glanced around. Members of the White Tiger Clan wore white clothing embroidered with golden thread, but Kohaku didn’t have permission to wear that garb. Instead, he was dressed down in dirty black-red robes. He stood out in a bad way among the bright colors worn by the surrounding partygoers. Kohaku wasn’t so meek that he would hunch his shoulders and hide, but he didn’t deny that the contrast made him uncomfortable.

“When is the guest of honor arriving?” he muttered.

They had been waiting and waiting, and yet the chieftain of the tribe that the beastfolk worshipped was still absent. Even though the time on the invitation had come and gone, the party couldn’t start without him. Kohaku wished this dull farce would end soon so he could beat a hasty exit.

In a seat tucked in the corner of the room, Kohaku leaned against the railing and sipped from his cup. Loud voices echoed in the hall where he stood, and he heard a similar din coming from the outside corridor across from the central courtyard. All of it only amplified his desire to leave. If his father, the leader of the White Tiger Clan, hadn’t ordered him to stay, he would have bid this place farewell a long time ago.

“Come on, Lord Kohaku. Turn that frown upside down.” Mashiro, whom Kohaku had brought as his plus-one, smiled and pinched Kohaku’s cheek.

Mashiro was a human child whom Kohaku had taken in as a baby. He was now twelve years old. Kohaku was a beastfolk, and members of his race could live for thousands of years provided they had a high level of magical energy, so a human’s life was so short it seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. It felt like just the other day, Mashiro had been an infant who couldn’t even speak, and now he was a mischievous little rascal. However, he was still adorable, with his animated expressions and cheeks still round with baby fat. He’d begun growing his hair out and tying it up in his ponytail to imitate Kohaku, and Kohaku couldn’t help but find this charming.

“If you don’t clean up your act, the chieftain will yell at you again for not acting like a proper member of the White Tiger Clan!” Mashiro continued.

Kohaku sighed. “Like I care.” He held out his cup, prompting Mashiro to pour him more alcohol. Despite the obvious exasperation on Mashiro’s face, he obeyed the wordless command. Leg propped on his seat—propriety be damned—Kohaku drained the cup once again and licked the remnants of liquor from his lips.

Kohaku, who had not been accepted as a “proper member of the White Tiger Clan” for a very long time now, couldn’t care less about his chieftain’s disapproval. In beastfolk culture, one was only considered mature when they could transform. All the chieftains present were showing off the ears and tails specific to their respective tribes. However, throughout his entire life, Kohaku had never once managed to transform.

Because it was unprecedented for a beastfolk to reach the age of maturity and still remain unable to transform, the others shunned Kohaku and treated him as the tribe nuisance. Yet despite his inability to change his appearance, Kohaku possessed the most magical energy out of anyone in his clan.

The White Tiger Clan commanded respect among the other beastfolk since they were one of the Four Gods—tribes said to be closest to deities. In recent years, none of the White Tigers had been born with powerful magic, which was why Kohaku could never convince his tribe to exile him. Instead, they just kept him around like a neglected pet.

Kohaku thought back to how his father had glared at him that morning. The root of his fury had been his displeasure at allowing Kohaku to appear in the public eye while no one else in their tribe could attend the party. Kohaku was used to his father’s furious expressions, as that was how his father had always looked at him since childhood. But every time he saw them, it was a forceful reminder of how disliked he was.

Kohaku then brushed his fingers against the accursed collar around his neck. He had worn it since he was a boy, and as long as it remained on him, he could never escape the tribe. The collar merely looked like a simple accessory at first glance. However, it was actually an instrument of torture designed to punish its wearer. Infuriatingly, if Kohaku ever dared to rebel against his tribe, the collar would reflect his own magical power back at him, so the stronger he was, the more violent the pushback would be. That was why Kohaku couldn’t remove his ridiculous collar, even now.

But if he died, he could be free of both the collar and his tribe. Such a thought had crossed his mind many times, but he couldn’t act on it now.

He glanced over at Mashiro, who was peering around with open curiosity in his eyes. “Calm down a little,” Kohaku said with a wry smile. Now that he had taken in Mashiro, Kohaku had a responsibility to take care of him until the end. So at the very least, while Mashiro lived, Kohaku also had a reason to carry on.

“Whoa, look over there, Lord Kohaku! It’s so pretty!”

Flutters rippled through the air as a swarm of butterflies took flight and converged on a single point. As Kohaku traced their path with his eyes, he couldn’t suppress a scoff. “He’s finally here.”

No matter when Kohaku laid eyes on him, he always looked the same. The man’s beauty enchanted all who gazed upon him. It seemed more accurate to think of him as a demon rather than what he really was: the chieftain of the Dragon Clan.

Continuing to hurl insults in his mind, Kohaku observed the butterflies until he saw a man—the exact man he’d expected—approaching from the hall. A crowd of both people and butterflies mirrored his every step.

The honored guest of the celebration had finally arrived.

No matter how many times Kohaku saw this dragon, his beauty was radiant to the point of inciting hatred. His silver hair rippled behind him, long and glossy. He could even sway the long sleeves of his pale-green shenyi with grace.

The man’s name was Seiryu. He was the chieftain of the Dragon Clan, which held the highest position among the Four Gods—the quartet of tribes that commanded authority over all the other beastfolk. Everyone looked up to him for his beauty, magic, and vast abundance of knowledge. Two long horns adorned his head, and a hefty tail dragged behind him. His green eyes, reminiscent of jade, also served as evidence of his draconic heritage.

Every time Kohaku saw Seiryu, a deep sense of inferiority would strike. He felt pathetic since he couldn’t even transform. But even if he could, Kohaku would never be able to compare himself to a man as brilliant or respected as Seiryu.

The Four Gods, who stood above the other beastfolk tribes, were the Dragon Clan, the White Tiger Clan, the Genbu Clan, and the Suzaku Clan. Each clan descended from a vassal of the gods. While many born into these clans boasted powerful magic, members of the Dragon Clan were said to be the closest to living deities. The Dragon Clan’s influence grew by the day, especially since the chieftains of the Genbu and Suzaku Clans avoided social functions. This was true of today’s celebration as well—of the Four Gods, the only ones who had deigned to make an appearance were from the White Tiger and Dragon Clans. And since Kohaku was the representative of the White Tiger Clan, it stood to reason that everyone’s attention would be on Seiryu.

“Why are so many butterflies fluttering above his head?” Mashiro asked. “Are they drawn to his beauty?”

Kohaku huffed in response. “Think of it as sending a letter to someone you fancy.”

The number of butterflies hovering above Seiryu’s head was equal to the number of admirers he had at the party. This was an ancient method of flirting, born from a frivolous superstition proclaiming that if you sent a paper butterfly to the object of your affection, they would reciprocate your love.

It’d been a while since the last time Kohaku had appeared at one of these events, so he had no idea when people had started indulging in this game during chieftains’ meetings. Everyone present seemed to have far too much time on their hands. Meanwhile, the White Tiger Clan never gave Kohaku any respite. He always had to rush here to exorcise some demons or hurry there to solve some trouble that had occurred. If the other tribes had time to mess around with jinxes, they could certainly take some work off his hands. Besides, Kohaku wasn’t supposed to have been at the meeting today either. As the embarrassment of the White Tiger Clan, he only appeared as the tribe’s representative during emergencies, and it was due to one such emergency that he was here at all.

To think that everyone would fall ill at once! The rest of the tribe must have gotten together and feasted on something delicious without bothering to tell Kohaku or save him any. While this had saved him from food poisoning, it also meant that he had to act as the tribe’s representative at the meeting, so it was hard to feel any sense of relief or satisfaction.

Mashiro, who had left at some point while Kohaku was staring at Seiryu, hurried back with a bright smile on his face. “Lord Kohaku, look!”

“Not you too...”

Mashiro had handed him a paper butterfly. Don’t tell me that even you fell for that dragon! Kohaku’s eyes narrowed, but Mashiro laughed and handed the butterfly to him instead.

“That’s not it at all!” Mashiro exclaimed. “They’re just so cute that I’d love to see one taking flight from up close, so I went and grabbed a few.”

Ridiculous. That was Kohaku’s honest opinion after hearing the boy’s reasoning. However, Mashiro was staring at him with expectation sparkling in his eyes. So, after heaving a sigh, Kohaku blew on the paper and imbued it with his magic. The paper butterfly floated from Kohaku’s hand and fluttered around Mashiro.

“Wow! This is so cool, Lord Kohaku!”

Mashiro’s parents had abandoned him as a baby. By the time Kohaku had found him and taken him in, he’d been on death’s doorstep. Since then, Mashiro had been attached to Kohaku, and the feeling was mutual. To Kohaku, who had raised the boy since he was an infant, Mashiro was practically his own flesh and blood. He often kept Mashiro around and spoiled him.

A human’s body was fragile, though, so Kohaku usually had Mashiro stay at the manor as a retainer. This marked the first time Mashiro had accompanied him outside of the village. The chieftains of the beastfolk tribes had a lot of time on their hands, and some of them viewed humans as their playthings, which was why Kohaku hadn’t wanted to bring Mashiro at first. But Mashiro had complained, refusing to stay behind.

Kohaku was very lenient toward the boy—something he was well aware of himself. A human’s life was so short, after all. If Mashiro wanted something, Kohaku would do his utter best to grant his wish.

“Lord Kohaku! Make another one fly!”

At Mashiro’s urging, Kohaku had no choice but to breathe life into yet another paper butterfly. Mashiro watched it frolic through the air, his expression soft with joy.

“Can you fly them out farther?” he asked.

“As long as there’s enough magic in the paper,” Kohaku replied. He directed the butterfly flying above Mashiro to flutter a short distance away.

“Wow!” Mashiro clapped his hands in delight. “You’re amazing, Lord Kohaku!”

From Mashiro’s human perspective, even such simple magic seemed entertaining. Finding his reactions adorable, Kohaku sat with Mashiro and followed the path of the butterfly with his eyes.

Suddenly, someone gently snagged the butterfly from the air.

“Ah!”

Mashiro cried out in surprise, and at nearly the same moment, a scream rose from within the manor. The sound was so piercing that Kohaku instinctively raised his hands and covered his ears. He looked toward the ruckus and found himself meeting Seiryu’s eyes. The Dragon Clan’s chieftain was sitting slightly apart from Kohaku, with a butterfly resting on his finger.

You again? Kohaku furrowed his brow. Whenever some trouble came up, this man was usually at the heart of it. “Ridiculous,” he muttered. He looked away.

Mashiro grabbed his arm and shook it. “Lord Kohaku, there’s still one more butterfly.” He pointed at the paper flitting around above him, and Kohaku tilted his head to the side.

“What about it?”

“Send this one farther away too! I’d love to try to catch it!”

Good grief. Kohaku shrugged and did as Mashiro asked.

The boy jumped to his feet and began following the butterfly around, looking like he was having the time of his life. He grunted and called out, “Just a bit more!” as he leaped for the butterfly, and Kohaku mischievously commanded it to fly even higher. Mashiro’s fingers whiffed. He was trying so hard to catch the butterfly that the more Kohaku watched him, the funnier the situation became, and Kohaku couldn’t suppress a snicker.

However, that was where their game stopped—a hand reached out yet again to capture the butterfly. Mashiro cried out at the theft.

Fed up, Kohaku couldn’t suppress a click of his tongue, and he made sure it was loud enough to reach the ears of the man with two butterflies on his finger. Kohaku wasn’t hiding his foul mood. Any normal person would have avoided him, but the other man wasn’t normal at all. With no regard for Kohaku’s thunderous scowl, the other man elegantly made his way over, all the while sending Kohaku a bright smile.

“Long time no see,” he said.

His face softened when he looked at Kohaku. He could ensnare thousands with that beautiful smile alone. How many had fallen victim to the illusion that they were special in his eyes, all because he had gazed upon them with this very expression? It was frightening to imagine.

Kohaku huffed and replied curtly, “I believe our last meeting was a scant three years ago.”

There was a reason he remembered this detail so clearly. Back then, the ambassador who was supposed to visit the Dragon Clan had fallen ill, so the last-minute mission of sending them a package had fallen onto Kohaku’s shoulders. But Kohaku had spent so much time defeating a demon on the way there that he’d had no choice but to stay the night at the Dragon Clan’s village, which had caused Mashiro undue worry.

After his return, Mashiro had sobbed, “You said you’d be back the same day, but you never returned. I thought you died!” It had been a memorable day for Kohaku because he’d realized anew just how much Mashiro needed him.

“That’s not true,” the beautiful man replied. “To be more precise, we last saw each other two years, nine months, and twenty-three days ago.”

Kohaku blinked at Seiryu’s words. Not even Kohaku, who remembered that day because of a memory he had made with Mashiro, could recall the exact date. It was said that those of the Dragon Clan possessed an abundance of knowledge and had fantastic memories, but it seemed a little absurd that this extended to such minor details.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re nitpicky?”

Ignoring Kohaku’s criticism, Seiryu sat down next to him without asking permission. “Other than you? No.”

“There are plenty of seats in this place, you know.”

Kohaku was implying that Seiryu should sit elsewhere, but Seiryu’s only response was to smile and reply, “You’re right. That’s why I sat here.”

Though Seiryu seemed kind and mellow, he only ever did what he wanted to do. Knowing that any further argument would just be a waste of time, Kohaku cut his losses and averted his eyes from Seiryu, who didn’t take the hint.

“It’s been so long since we last saw each other. We have much to catch up on.”

“No, we don’t.”

Kohaku didn’t want to converse with this man at all. In fact, he didn’t want anything to do with him if he could get away with it. Even now, Seiryu’s presence beside him was garnering attention from the crowd. Kohaku had already been a target of mockery as the nuisance of the White Tiger Clan, and the scornful giggles from the people around them grew louder until they reached Kohaku’s ears.

“Look at him sucking up to Lord Seiryu. Is he planning to stage a coup and take over the White Tiger Clan?”

Who in their right mind would suck up to him? I haven’t moved from this spot; he was the one who came to me. Get your eyes checked out, lady.

“That’s the one who still can’t transform, right? It’s a little creepy how powerful his magic is despite that defect. I wish he would just go away.”

I would if I could. If the White Tiger Clan ever agrees to let me go free, I’ll do so in a heartbeat.

Kohaku’s grip on his cup tightened as the surrounding beastfolk slandered him openly, but a chill emanating from the man next to him silenced the buzz of conversation.

“When will tonight’s banquet begin?” Seiryu inquired. The slow proceedings of the party had seemingly struck a nerve with the honorable chieftain of the Dragon Clan. Though a smile was still affixed to Seiryu’s face, an underlying tension simmered in his voice.

The host of the night hurriedly replied, “Right! Well then, everyone, please enjoy your meal.”

Still looking uncomfortable, the gathered beastfolk settled into their seats. However, once the banquet got underway, all notions of formality were tossed out the window. The beastfolk danced and sang loudly, full of merriment.

Kohaku was enjoying the revelry with sips of alcohol when Seiryu, also drinking liquor, turned to him. In a tone so casual that they might as well have been discussing the weather, Seiryu asked, “So, are you finally interested in becoming my mate?”

“Not at all.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

In Seiryu’s eyes, this question was on par with a morning greeting. Kohaku couldn’t remember when the man had started asking him this question every time they met.

Wait, no, I do. It started two hundred and fifty years ago. Back then, the beastfolk tribes hadn’t been at peace like they were today. Conflicts between them had been a daily occurrence. The Dragon Clan—led by Seiryu, who at the time had only just become chieftain—had been the one to unite them all. Kohaku had been impressed at the deft way in which Seiryu ruled over the brutish and violent beastfolk tribes. But even then, while beastfolk had still warred with other beastfolk, this man had asked Kohaku, “Do you have any intention of becoming my mate?” He’d dropped the question like it was a normal part of casual conversation.

Back then, the White Tiger Clan had been secretive about its inner workings. And since the other tribes didn’t know that Kohaku was a target of ostracization, Seiryu must have figured that he could strengthen the relationship between their tribes with the marriage.

The Dragon Clan suffered from fertility issues. However, Kohaku had heard a rumor: Apparently, as if to make up for this peculiarity of their species, they could impregnate any partner regardless of their sex. He had never imagined that Seiryu would propose to him, though, so it had come as a surprise.

Nonetheless, the only answer that Kohaku could give was “No.” Kohaku was worthless. Beastfolk who couldn’t transform could never go into heat, which meant there was no way for Kohaku to become pregnant. Dragons mated for life. If Seiryu was willing to use marriage as a trump card to bring peace to the never-ending conflicts between the beastfolk, then there were far better partners for him out there.

Back then, Seiryu’s reaction had been the same as it was tonight—a tilt of the head, a smile, and a “Really?”

A marriage proposal was practically nothing to him, and so Kohaku refused to take it to heart. He didn’t like this dragon and his perpetual smile. To be more precise, he’d stopped liking Seiryu after the man had started plastering that false cheer on his face.

Seiryu and Kohaku had been childhood friends. After their first meeting at the border between the Dragon Clan’s and White Tiger Clan’s territories, they’d played together from dawn till dusk whenever they could. Seiryu had lost both his parents; Kohaku had lost his mother and was shunned by his father. The moment they’d met, they’d felt a sense of kinship for one another and had fostered their bond of friendship in secret.

Because Kohaku had been the village outcast, Seiryu, who was generous with his affection and attention, had been special to him. Back then, Kohaku had adored Seiryu. He’d been so cute that Kohaku could’ve mistaken him for a girl, and he’d always done his best to try and tag along with Kohaku, practically begging him to wait up.

Seiryu had never hesitated to express his emotions either. As a child, he’d often gotten mad or started crying. But now, his expression never shifted away from that shady smile. The sight of it was so incongruous with Kohaku’s memories of his childhood friend that it never failed to make him queasy.

Kohaku toyed with the idea of teasing Seiryu about how many times he’d confessed his “deep love for Kohaku” when they’d been kids, but he ultimately decided against it. That was far too immature for him. Besides, Kohaku was sure that Seiryu wanted to forget all about his youth, since he would never talk about those days. Kohaku’s own memories of his childhood were rather fuzzy, so the mature thing to do was for Kohaku to pretend he’d forgotten about their shared past.

Besides, Kohaku was infamous in the beastfolk community, so it was best if no one knew they had been childhood friends. Despite his avoiding Seiryu for the dragon’s own good, Seiryu always sought Kohaku out when they were in the same space. Perhaps he felt sorry for his pathetic, shunned childhood friend. If that was the case, then Kohaku wanted to tell him to shove off with his unnecessary sympathy. In fact, Seiryu’s presence made things worse for Kohaku, since he attracted more attention than usual.

There was never any sense behind Seiryu’s words and actions. He acted as if he wanted nothing to do with their past, yet he refused to leave Kohaku alone. He always tried to get closer to Kohaku, yet he backed down the moment Kohaku rejected him. Kohaku couldn’t understand him, which only fueled his desire to avoid any contact with Seiryu.

“I heard you turned down your latest date from the matchmaker,” Kohaku said.

Marriages within the Dragon Clan were an important topic for all beastfolk. When Kohaku had first arrived at the party, no one could stop gossiping about the news. The sudden memory had prompted him to tease Seiryu about it, but oddly enough, Seiryu’s expression brightened.

“Ah, I’m so glad to hear that you care about me.”

He’s glad to hear me mock him for failing a matchmaking session? Weirdo. I can never understand what’s going on in his head.

“I’m not the only one bringing it up,” Kohaku replied. “All the beastfolk were discussing it.” Seiryu was handsome and kind, and his magic—a blessing from the gods for all beastfolk—was the most powerful among them. Yet, for the past two hundred and fifty years, Seiryu had turned down every single arranged match proposed to him. “Is there something fundamentally wrong with you?”

“Maybe. Who knows? I’m forbidden from discussing what happens during my meetings,” Seiryu replied with a tilt of his head, causing his long hair to cascade over his shoulders. The gesture reminded Kohaku of Seiryu’s adorable younger self, and Kohaku barely repressed a click of his tongue in time. As a child, Kohaku had enjoyed seeing this habit of Seiryu’s. But nowadays, he could tell from the way Seiryu angled his head how calculated the action was, and it always left a bad taste in Kohaku’s mouth. Time was a cruel mistress indeed.

“Ah, right,” Kohaku said. “I forgot that’s how matchmaking works for dragons.”

Apparently, to make better plans for their futures, conversations during these arranged meetings veered into rather private topics. In particular, dragons brought up secrets that only others in their clan knew about, so they would sign a blood oath to forbid each other from divulging what they discussed during these meetings. Matchmaking with someone from the Dragon Clan required many other special conditions and agreements, which was the rumored reason behind this specific dragon’s lack of success.

“I’m still impressed by how many people are interested in marrying you,” Kohaku continued.

It had been two hundred and fifty years of constant matchmaking, so Kohaku had figured that the pool of bachelors and bachelorettes would’ve dried up already. No one had ever approached him about a potential match over the long centuries. The thought of that further soured Kohaku’s mood.

“I agree. I believe I’ve met most of the interested prospects by now.” Seiryu sounded quite happy about it.

What’s he so thrilled about? Kohaku wondered in disbelief. Who in their right mind would delight in having fewer romantic options? Seiryu was truly incomprehensible. To soothe his rising ire, Kohaku grabbed a piece of meat on the bone and, throwing propriety to the wind, bit right into it. A quiet metallic noise sounded near Kohaku’s ear, and Seiryu narrowed his eyes.

“Enough about me. It’s not every day that you wear something on your ear,” he said.

“You mean this?” Sensing what Seiryu was staring at, Kohaku brushed his fingers against the jangling earring. The gem adorning it, which had been mined in a faraway land, was the same amber as Kohaku’s eyes. It was his new favorite, and he often wore it outside. “Shunran gave it to me.”

Shunran was one of Kohaku’s few friends. Kohaku had first met him while exterminating demons. They’d taken to chatting whenever they met, and it didn’t take long before they grew close enough to visit each other. He was the chieftain of the Eagle Clan, but he was a friendly man who never acted arrogantly about his station. Speaking of Shunran, he’d told Kohaku that he would be at the banquet as well, but he was nowhere to be found. Granted, even if Kohaku saw him, he would never approach for a chat—he took care to avoid hanging around Shunran when they were in public. Still, Shunran’s mere presence helped soothe Kohaku’s frayed nerves, so he hoped his friend would arrive soon.

“Oh, from Shunran, huh? It looks good on you.” Still smiling, Seiryu touched the earring. At the same moment, a shattering noise sounded nearby, followed by a scream. The scream sounded like Shunran, but when Kohaku tried to look over in that direction, Seiryu continued speaking. “In that case, allow me to offer you a gift as well.”

“I don’t need anything from you.”

Why Seiryu had started his sentence with “In that case,” Kohaku would never understand. The earring had been a show of gratitude from Shunran after Kohaku had helped him slay some demons, and that had been the only reason Kohaku had accepted it. Kohaku hadn’t done anything at all to warrant a gift from Seiryu.

“Why?” Seiryu asked.

“I have no reason to accept a gift from you.”

Kohaku didn’t like to put himself in others’ debt. That would create an unnecessary weakness that could be leveraged against him. He’d made a personal vow to avoid being beholden to others after spending his childhood years without a protector to stand up for him.

“But you had a reason to take Shunran’s?”

Saying that he’d saved Shunran felt condescending, so Kohaku obfuscated the reason with the first thing that came to mind. “He’s a friend.”

Yet another scream rang in the air. It really sounded like Shunran. Maybe he’s arguing with another chieftain. As Kohaku wondered this, he tilted his head, and Seiryu, smile still affixed to his lips, mirrored the motion.

“Are you saying I’m not?” Seiryu asked.

“You’re not,” Kohaku replied flatly.

“Well, then what am I to you?”

What is he to me? Kohaku racked his brain for an answer. Long ago, he’d considered Seiryu his beloved childhood friend. But now, Seiryu was the chieftain of the Dragon Clan, the pinnacle of all the beastfolk tribes. Meanwhile, Kohaku was the black sheep of the White Tiger Clan. They were not “friends” by any stretch of the imagination. If Kohaku had to give an answer, though...

“You’re the person I just can’t seem to get away from.”

“Is that better or worse than a friend?”

“Who knows?”

Tired of playing along with Seiryu’s ridiculous interrogation, Kohaku picked up the bottle of liquor and drank directly from it. Mashiro, who had remained silent behind Kohaku the entire time, tugged at his sleeves. The boy’s eyes were saying, If you don’t conduct yourself with propriety, the chieftain’ll get mad at you again, but Kohaku ignored his silent plea and continued to pour alcohol down his throat. Getting drunk was the only way to get through this snoozefest of a banquet.

“You shouldn’t drink so much,” Seiryu said, touching the hand Kohaku was holding the bottle with.

Kohaku shrugged him off. As if to show Seiryu that he wasn’t his boss, Kohaku took another swig. “Oh, shut up. It’s not like I’ll cause you any trouble.”

“I’m not worried about that. You always get drowsy after you drink, that’s all.”

“Your concern is unnecessary. I have my attendant with me.”

Seiryu was silent for a moment before he murmured, “I don’t recall seeing him three years ago.”

For the first time all night, his gaze fell on Mashiro. Kohaku had noticed him ignoring Mashiro’s presence the entire time, but that was to be expected from a beastfolk chieftain. They believed humans to be fragile creatures that could die at the drop of a hat. Most chieftains either ignored humans outright or, if they took an interest in one, treated them as a toy.

“Right, you wouldn’t. I accepted him as an attendant about two years ago. Before that, he stayed in the manor with me, but I hadn’t planned on giving him a job. He was the one who insisted on making himself useful, so—”

“Oh?” Seiryu interrupted. “You two are close enough that he can make such selfish demands of you?” His voice had deepened an octave and, in response to it, cold air began to swirl around them. Beastfolk were proud creatures. Seiryu must not have understood why Kohaku would acquiesce to Mashiro’s request.

Mashiro was important to Kohaku; he didn’t appreciate Seiryu’s attempt to intimidate the boy. He subtly ushered Mashiro behind him and scoffed. “I sure wish he were more selfish. He gives me a headache with how little he wants.”

“The relationship between you two is one where you want him to be open with his desires?”

“What the hell is your problem? You’re talking in circles.” Kohaku clicked his tongue again. He was chatting with Seiryu as if they were still friends. The alcohol must have affected him, but the chilly air helped clear his head.

“Will you have more to drink?” Seiryu asked.

“Didn’t you tell me off for drinking earlier?” Kohaku shot back.

“I believe you merely imagined me saying that.”

“Weirdo.”

Tsk. He’d messed up again. Kohaku clamped his mouth shut.

Back when they were children, Kohaku had had no clue Seiryu would eventually become the chieftain of the Dragon Clan, so he’d spoken to him in a most disrespectful manner. But that was all in the past now. As adults, they often saw each other at meetings since they both hailed from families that ruled their respective clans. But they never ever met in private, and that wouldn’t change in the future.

Head woozy from the alcohol, Kohaku stared blankly at Seiryu’s face. He was infuriatingly pretty. Seiryu had been Kohaku’s first crush, which made sense as Seiryu was the most beautiful person in the world. Anyone would fall for him. As a kid, Seiryu had often told Kohaku how much he loved him, so Kohaku had believed that his feelings were reciprocated. He’d even planned on taking Seiryu as his wife when they got older. But one day, Seiryu stopped showering Kohaku with affection. He must have learned of Kohaku’s status within his tribe. That same day, Kohaku’s first crush had ended, and he’d distanced himself from Seiryu.

“Do I have something on my face?” Seiryu asked.

“Yeah. A nose, a mouth, and a pair of eyes.”

“Wow, you really are drunk.” Chuckling, Seiryu confiscated the bottle of alcohol from Kohaku’s hand. “Here, have some water.”

Kohaku obediently drank, his sluggish brain still sorting through his memories. Now that he thought about it, why was Seiryu still matchmaking when he had already found his special someone? That special someone was Karin, who hailed from the White Deer Clan. He was mesmerizing, with perfect translucent skin and lovely round eyes. His long, platinum hair shimmered like jewels and delighted all who gazed upon him.

Karin was present too, albeit farther down the table, and he was fixing Kohaku with a stern glare. It was clear from his expression: He hated that someone like Kohaku was having such a friendly conversation with his precious Seiryu. Karin had directly warned Kohaku away from Seiryu several times before, but this was all just a misunderstanding. A vexing one, at that. That was yet another reason Kohaku avoided Seiryu to the best of his ability.

Yet this man could never read the room! The more Kohaku tried to get away, the more Seiryu tried to spend time with him. What a headache. Maybe this was Seiryu’s way of flirting with Karin, but Kohaku wished they would play their lovers’ games away from him.

Kohaku once again turned to drinking to suppress his anger. He had a high tolerance for alcohol, so he seldom got drunk, but he must’ve had too much that night. When he stood up to go to the restroom, he swayed and stumbled. Before he could topple over, Seiryu steadied him.

“I almost never see you drunk,” he said. “Are you all right?”

No, I’m not! If looks could kill, Karin would incinerate me on the spot! Luckily, Kohaku still had enough presence of mind to bite back those words.

“Release me,” he snapped. “Leave me alone.” He tried to shrug Seiryu off. However, Seiryu only tightened his grip in response, and he dragged Kohaku outside.

“You need to sober up,” he said. “Let’s get some fresh air.”

“Hey, what the hell?!”

Only after Seiryu had dragged him out to the courtyard did Kohaku finally succeed in pulling himself out of the man’s hold. His irritation only grew when he felt a lingering pain in his arm from the tightness of Seiryu’s grip. Seiryu may have looked like a delicate maiden, but he boasted some insane strength.

“Please tell me if you’re going through something,” Seiryu said.

“Hah! The chieftain of the Dragon Clan is a philanthropist! Am I ‘going through something’? When am I not?!”

“Kohaku, I’m being serious.”

“I’m being serious too!”

Kohaku could count on one hand the number of times his life had gone right, and it had been that way since birth. But what was the point of bringing that up? Complaining wouldn’t solve anything, so he never told anyone. Seiryu’s invasive questions made Kohaku’s blood boil. He knew nothing about Kohaku, yet he would occasionally try to offer kindness, as if he viewed Kohaku as some charity case. Kohaku hated this man. His hand curled into a fist, but before he could punch Seiryu, a frantic voice stopped him.

“Lord Kohaku!” It was Mashiro. He must have followed them to the courtyard. Clinging onto Kohaku’s arm, he pleaded, “Lord Kohaku, let’s go back inside. Okay?”

The desperation on Mashiro’s face brought Kohaku back to his senses, cooling the anger burning in the pit of his stomach. What was he doing? He’d been about to punch the chieftain of the Dragon Clan, of all people!

Kohaku exhaled and slowly relaxed his hand. After collecting himself, he muttered, “I had too much to drink.”

“Kohaku—”

“I’m leaving.”

Kohaku turned away from Seiryu. He didn’t want to spend even another second here. He’d attended half of the banquet, and that should have fulfilled his duties as the White Tiger Clan’s representative.

“Kohaku, wait!”

He could hear Seiryu behind him, but he walked away without a second look back. At the end of the day, they would never understand each other. As a child of the Dragon Clan, you had people fawning over you from birth. What could you ever know about me? How could you, with your lovely horns and tail, ever understand how I feel? Kohaku knew he was being unfair, but he couldn’t stop the negative spiral of his thoughts.

Next to him, Mashiro was peering into his face with a worried look. “Lord Kohaku?”

“What?”

“What’s your relationship to that man?”

Kohaku thought for a moment before he replied, “He’s just someone I can never get away from.”

“But you two seemed...” Mashiro looked over his shoulder and trailed off. This wasn’t like him—he was the type of person who never hesitated to make his opinion known.

“Is something the matter?”

“Oh, no. It’s nothing.” Mashiro shuddered before grabbing Kohaku and dragging him forward. “Let’s go home! A hot bath before bed is just what you need on nights like this!”

“Yeah, I agree.”

Kohaku refused to linger on bad memories or feelings—doing so was a waste of time. After all, bad things happened every day. If he had let every little thing bother him, he would’ve died ages ago. Kohaku only hoped that he wouldn’t have to see Seiryu for a while. That was the sole thought he carried with him as he retired for the night.

***

“So you had an argument with Lord Seiryu, huh?”

Kohaku scowled when he saw the amused smirk on his friend’s—Shunran’s—face. He repressed the urge to throw the papers in his hand at Shunran and replied, “If you insist on bringing up stupid gossip, I’m going home.”

Shunran chuckled. “You always get so riled up when I mention him.”

“No, I don’t! I don’t care about him one bit!” Kohaku slammed the papers down on the desk.

“Okay, okay, you don’t,” Shunran said soothingly. “I got it. Make sure you don’t rip those.”

The documents in Kohaku’s hand were written requests from the chieftain of a beastfolk tribe farther north. Apparently, more demons had appeared in that region, and the tribes were having a hard time keeping them in check. After receiving so many of these letters from different chieftains asking if he had any experience dealing with similar demons, Shunran had asked Kohaku to drop by his manor and help out.

As the chieftain of the Eagle Clan, Shunran had a pair of large wings protruding from his back. He could fly with them, but he couldn’t stay in the air for very long, likely because his magic wasn’t strong enough to sustain an extended flight. With his amiable looks and casual manner of speech, Shunran had a way of putting others at ease. Kohaku was no exception—spending time with Shunran was one of the few comforts he had in life.

At least, it was supposed to be.

“You left the banquet so suddenly, and Lord Seiryu went home pretty much right after you did,” Shunran continued. “We spent the rest of the night wondering whether you did or said something to tick him off.”

“Tsk.”

“Don’t click your tongue at me! Man, you always get so touchy about Lord Seiryu.”

Exasperated, Shunran poured some tea into a cup and handed it to Kohaku, who snatched it out of his hands. It was lukewarm, and Kohaku chugged the entire cup in one gulp.

“He just rubs me the wrong way!” Kohaku yelled, slamming the cup on the desk with a loud clatter.

Shunran sighed and shook his head, then took a leisurely sip of his own tea. “I bet he does. You and Lord Seiryu lead such different lives. He can never relate to your struggles, nor will you ever understand his.”

“Struggles? Are we discussing the same man?” Kohaku’s eyes widened as he processed his friend’s unexpected words. He’d spent his entire life on the lowest rung of the social ladder, whereas Lord Seiryu had been fawned over and worshipped all his years. Any comparison between their circumstances was laughable.

“Think about it,” Shunran urged gently. “Yes, Lord Seiryu’s treasured by his tribe, but on the flip side, that means he’s never experienced true freedom. Take the matchmaking, for example.”

Kohaku scoffed. “I hear he’s spent the past two hundred and fifty years getting dumped.”

“We don’t know who’s doing the dumping. Anyway, that’s all part of his duty as chieftain, and Lord Seiryu can’t escape from it.”

Kohaku had nothing to say in response. His duty as a chieftain...Those words must weigh on Shunran as well. If Shunran was trying to imply that Kohaku could never understand the responsibility of leading a tribe, then Kohaku had no counter for that.

“I’m sure he’s constantly pressured to continue the bloodline, even if he doesn’t want kids,” Shunran continued. “That’s probably why they keep forcing him on arranged dates.”

The Dragon Clan’s bloodline must never die out. That was just how important the Dragon Clan’s blood was to their society. Their magic was the closest to the power of the gods, and time and time again, they’d wielded that strength to save the beastfolk from harm. Thus, the Dragon Clan and its lineage had to remain eternal, and they—no, all the beastfolk tribes—would do everything in their power to ensure that.

Kohaku brushed his fingers against the collar around his neck. He’d thought himself to be the only one stuck in a life from which there was no escape...but what if Seiryu was in the same situation? Did it mean that Seiryu, too, was collared in some way? But every time Kohaku met him, Seiryu was in a great mood, all smiles—Kohaku had a hard time believing that the dragon chieftain might be somehow confined.

“What if he’s the one actively setting up the meetings?” Kohaku pointed out.

“You wouldn’t be wrong about the ‘active’ part, I suppose. He’s been churning through matchmaking meetings at a shocking speed these past two hundred and fifty years.”

“See? Then—”

Shunran cut him off. “But don’t you think he would’ve found someone he likes by now? If he’s so gung ho about finding an arranged partner, why hasn’t he mated yet?”

“Arranged marriages with members of the Dragon Clan have lots of special rules and conditions, right?” Kohaku pointed out. “Maybe no one’s satisfied all those conditions, and that’s why he’s still single.”

“Ah, yeah, I’ve heard about those rules. Apparently, the meeting with Karin from the White Deer Clan was a bust as well.”

“Karin?”

Kohaku hadn’t known that. He and Seiryu had seemed like a perfect match for one another, but if even Karin had failed to become Seiryu’s arranged partner, then there was no one else in the world for him. Oddly, Kohaku felt a sense of relief that Karin’s matchmaking session with Seiryu hadn’t worked out.

“Karin’s appointment was about a month ago, I think,” Shunran said. “He was really confident before the meeting, but I hear that these days, he’s been down in the dumps.”

Kohaku thought back to Karin’s behavior during the banquet. He almost always stuck to Seiryu’s side and accompanied him wherever he went, but that night when Kohaku had spotted Karin at the party, he’d been watching from a distance. Had he felt too awkward to hang around Seiryu after the failed matchmaking session?

“If even Karin wasn’t a good fit, then what conditions do you have to meet for a successful match?” Shunran wondered. “I’m dying to know.”

“Maybe you have to be prettier than a dragon.”

Shunran laughed at Kohaku’s joke. “If that’s really the case, then Lord Seiryu will never find a mate. Actually, wait. Maybe you could...” He looked over Kohaku, who pursed his lips in irritation.

“Me? Beautiful? Don’t be ridiculous.” Kohaku twisted a lock of damaged hair around his finger. Comparing his hair and all its split ends to Karin’s glossy strands was an insult to the White Deer Clan. The dry skin on his fingers and the cracks in his lips were also the furthest things from beautiful.

“Man, Kohaku, you don’t know the first thing about yourself. You’d be breathtaking if you cleaned yourself up a little.”

“What’s the point in cleaning a ball of dirt?”

“Didn’t you know? Balls of dirt can give off a lovely glow if you polish them.”

“Dirt can shine all it wants, but at the end of the day, it’s still dirt.”

“Oh dear. You really know nothing. Even a ball of dirt can become an irreplaceable treasure if its owner believes it has value.”

“Even a ball of dirt can become an irreplaceable treasure if its owner believes it has value,” huh? Kohaku thought. Will someone think of me that way one day? Will I ever meet a partner who will treasure me? Who will love me and me alone? He hurriedly shook his head to shoo the thoughts away.

“Kohaku?”

“It’s nothing.”

The face that had appeared in Kohaku’s mind belonged to his father. Who could possibly love him when not even his own family did? Kohaku wouldn’t pin his hopes on a fantasy. Even if he had to remain alone for his whole life, he was strong enough to endure.

***

Why must I go through something like this?

As Kohaku shrugged on robes far fancier than anything he had ever worn before, he thought back to the sudden order his father had issued him last night.

“Attend a matchmaking session.”

Four words. Those four simple words had forced Kohaku to spend the day meeting someone for a potential arranged marriage. The order from his father had been entirely one-sided, but it was something Kohaku had no right to reject.

Kohaku’s mother had died during childbirth, so he didn’t even know what she’d looked like. His life had come at the cost of hers, and yet he was a pathetic loser who couldn’t even transform. His father’s disappointment must have been immense. After the death of Kohaku’s mother, his father married a new woman, and though she’d given birth to a child, that child had perished during a conflict with another beastfolk tribe. Since she wasn’t able to become pregnant again, Kohaku remained the sole son of his poor father.

As much as his father must’ve wanted to chase him out of the White Tiger Clan, he couldn’t. The moment Kohaku’s magic weakened, his father could use that as an excuse to exile him, but that day hadn’t yet come.

Kohaku thought back to his father’s inability to even look him in the eye the previous night. His father had truly loved his mother, which was why he despised Kohaku, the one who’d caused her death. As a boy, Kohaku had hoped countless times that, if he could only transform, his father would grow to care for him. But he’d never managed it, and his father still hated him.

Mashiro tightened the belt tie around the waist of the quju shenyi, squeezing an involuntary grunt out of Kohaku.

“Lord Kohaku, are these robes hard to breathe in?” Mashiro asked.

“Did you have to pull it so tight?” Kohaku grumbled.

The only sounds in Kohaku’s manor—which stood out of sight at the very back of the White Tiger Clan’s village—were the voices of Mashiro and Kohaku. Mashiro was hemming and hawing over the robes he’d spread out, while Kohaku acted as a mannequin. All the fancy attire had been borrowed from villagers residing at the foot of the mountain. They adored Mashiro for his natural charm, and when he’d mentioned that he didn’t have any robes for Kohaku to wear, they’d all lent him theirs.

“We have to emphasize your beautiful waist as much as possible,” Mashiro replied. “Please put up with it for today, and you might just come home with a lovely lady on your arm!”

Beastfolk like Kohaku didn’t need slender waists; they needed powerful magic and the ability to transform. Kohaku was the one who’d raised Mashiro, but maybe the boy was spending too much time in the human village. His way of thinking resembled theirs.

Mashiro continued rambling on. “If that happens, we’ll have to renovate this manor and make it a more suitable home for your wife!”

Kohaku peered around his manor with a self-deprecating smile. His only attendant was Mashiro, a human. Before Mashiro’s arrival, Kohaku had lived alone in this manor, and he’d let it fall into disrepair. On occasion, Mashiro tried to fix things up as best as he could, but he was so clumsy that the places he “fixed” always ended up worse than before. The manor didn’t look like a home people lived in.

But to Kohaku, this was the only place where he could let his guard down. He’d lived here for as long as he could remember. His wet nurse had stayed with him when he’d been a baby, but at some point, she’d left him to fend for himself. Since then, he’d had to do everything on his own. Even Mashiro’s terrible attempts at repairing the property made him smile, for each failed project had its own memory to go with it.

“Be more confident in yourself, Lord Kohaku!” Mashiro exclaimed. “With your beauty, I’m sure you’ll find a bride in no time!”

Kohaku didn’t want to burst Mashiro’s bubble when he was all enthusiastic like this, but he didn’t think he would ever find a bride. Kohaku had never once experienced his heat—no one was eccentric enough to want to marry someone like that. Why in the world did his father want him to start matchmaking now, after all this time? Kohaku had no idea what was going through the man’s head.

“Lord Kohaku, you absolutely have to keep a smile on your face! Don’t forget it!” Mashiro continued, his expression serious. He’d propped a hand on his hip like he was a scolding parent.

“Okay, okay. I’ll smile.”

“Yes! And make sure you do so as soon as you reach their village! Let’s practice!”

Never in his life had Kohaku intentionally smiled, but he lifted the corners of his lips at Mashiro’s behest.

Mashiro immediately berated him. “That’s a scary expression! Why would you intimidate them like that?!” The boy then seemed to realize what time it was. “Oh no! Lord Kohaku, we must hurry, or else we’ll be late! Please practice your smile on the way there, all right?!”

Mashiro fussily packed a bag and escorted Kohaku out of the manor. With all preparations complete, Kohaku made his way to the village where his prospective partner lived.

***

“Remember to smile, Lord Kohaku!”

As soon as Kohaku stepped into the village, Mashiro’s final reminder echoed in his brain once again. His attendant hadn’t stopped nagging him about it, so the words were stuck in his mind.

Curious spectators had already gathered at the entrance of the village, hoping to sneak a peek at their visitor. But the loud buzz of their conversation stopped the moment they saw Kohaku. This was why he hated having to leave the manor. Because he couldn’t transform, Kohaku’s appearance lacked any bestial traits, like animal ears or a tail. At first glance, one could mistake him for an ordinary human. So when most people saw Kohaku for the first time, they would stare at him with their mouths agape, much like the villagers were doing now.

Kohaku wanted to turn right around and go home; he wasn’t a sideshow attraction for people to gawk at. But there was no going against his father’s orders. A whipping would await Kohaku if he defied this order.

Left with no other choice, Kohaku strode ahead so he could fulfill his duties. He walked toward the manor, where two members of the Bear Clan were waiting for him. His arranged date was standing next to, presumably, her father.

Remembering Mashiro’s words, Kohaku forced his facial muscles to cooperate and smiled. “It’s nice to meet you,” he said.

The woman from the Bear Clan gasped. “My, how...how could this be?!”

The crowd murmured, and his arranged date stumbled backward before falling to the ground. Kohaku remembered how Mashiro had mistaken his smile for an act of intimidation and wondered just how terrible his expression must’ve looked. As soon as he returned home, he would complain to Mashiro that his advice had only made things worse.

“Uh, are you all right?” Kohaku asked. He didn’t particularly care if his date had passed out, but he couldn’t exactly ignore her. He reached down to help her up, and she grabbed his hand in a tight grip.

“Lord Kohaku, if you’ll have me, I—”

“Oh my, what a coincidence to see you here!”

Kohaku couldn’t help but furrow his brow at the voice that suddenly interrupted the Bear Clan girl. “Seiryu.”

He didn’t even need to turn around—he recognized Seiryu by his voice alone. Kohaku had been under the impression that he could go a few years without having to see that dragon’s mug again, so he’d never expected to run into him again so soon after the banquet. On top of that, it was just his luck that Seiryu had walked in on Kohaku during his first matchmaking session.

At this point, Kohaku had already steeled himself for his father’s lashing. With Seiryu here, there was no way in hell that this meeting would go well. After witnessing the pinnacle of beauty, no one would pay attention to someone like Kohaku, who could never match up to that standard. Kohaku had no idea what Seiryu was doing here, but if they stood next to each other, his presence would only highlight the dragon chieftain’s sublimity.

Kohaku reluctantly turned around, and as expected, Seiryu was standing there. He was looking as perfect as he always did, with a white coat layered over his teal shenyi.

For some reason, Seiryu quirked an eyebrow when he saw Kohaku. “It’s rare to see you wearing such clothes.”

Kohaku, indignant at the comment, looked down at his unnecessarily elaborate robes. He wanted to protest that he hadn’t been the one who’d chosen this outfit, nor did he even want to be wearing it, but he bit his tongue when he remembered he didn’t need to explain himself to Seiryu.

“Lord Seiryu!” The Bear Clan’s chieftain jogged over, a polite smile affixed to his face. He’d seemingly already forgotten all about Kohaku. “I never expected to see you in our humble village. What business do you have with us today?”

“I was just passing through,” Seiryu replied. “Since I was in the area, I thought I’d drop by and see how things have been around here.”

“Oh, thank you for your concern! Please, look around to your heart’s content! Hey, won’t someone offer Lord Seiryu a tour?!”

“By the way,” Seiryu said, interrupting the chieftain’s delighted attempts to offer hospitality. He tilted his head to the side. “What’s Kohaku doing here?”

The chieftain seemed startled. “A-Ah, well, uh... His father was practically begging me, you see! I told him I wasn’t interested, but he just wouldn’t take no for an answer...”

“He wouldn’t take no for an answer? What do you mean?”

“What I mean is...you know... I-I wanted to set up a matchmaking session between you and my daughter! But our turn never came, and my daughter’s growing older by the day, so...”

“So? So what?”

Ah, it all makes sense now. This girl hadn’t gotten the chance to have an arranged date with Seiryu yet, which meant Kohaku was stealing a romantic prospect from him. No wonder the chieftain was having a hard time admitting the truth.

Feeling sympathetic toward the Bear Clan’s chieftain, who was breaking out in a cold sweat under Seiryu’s curious gaze, Kohaku butted into the conversation. “She’s having a matchmaking session.”

Seiryu turned his attention to Kohaku. “She’s matchmaking? With whom?” He glanced around. It was clear from his actions that Seiryu believed it was impossible for anyone to want to matchmake with Kohaku.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Kohaku scoffed, irritation flaring up within him. “Who else could it be but me?”

“With you? You’re on an arranged date?” Seiryu blinked, and his long eyelashes fluttered.

“What? Is there something wrong with that?”

“Wait, you’re really here for a matchmaking session?”

“Enough with the redundant questions. I’m getting older too. It’s about time for me to start a family.” That hadn’t been Kohaku’s intention at all, but Seiryu’s look of disbelief was an insult to his pride. He puffed his chest out to really sell the story of his being here of his own will, but Seiryu just shook his head slightly.

“That’s impossible,” Seiryu replied.

“Huh?” What do you mean by “impossible”? Are you saying no one would ever want to marry me?

“That’s not true!” his matchmaking partner, who had remained silent until this point, suddenly exclaimed. “I’m more than happy to become Lord Kohaku’s—”

“I’m speaking with Kohaku right now,” Seiryu interrupted. “This has nothing to do with you, so hold your tongue.”

“I’m his matchmaking partner. How could it have nothing to do with me?”

Suddenly, Kohaku sensed a change in the air. “Hmm? What’s that?” He looked around as a soft rumbling filled his ears, and the next second, the ground began to shake.

Shocked by the sudden earthquake, Kohaku stumbled and fell against Seiryu’s chest.

“Are you all right?” Seiryu asked.

“I-I’m fine!”

Unlike Seiryu, who had remained upright, Kohaku had lost his balance. He felt pathetic and pushed himself away. Even such a minor incident proved how much better Seiryu was than him. But I was the one protecting you when we were younger, Kohaku thought, frustrated, but it sounded like he was just trying to save face in his own mind.

“Hey! What happened?!” the chieftain yelled frantically.

An equally panicky villager replied, “Th-There was a rockslide! On the mountain!”

“What?!” The chieftain turned around to fix Seiryu and Kohaku with a wide-eyed look.

Seiryu, still wearing his usual calm smile, said, “Don’t mind me. Attend to your duties as chieftain.”

“Er, Lord Seiryu, correct me if I’m wrong, but did you...?”

“Did I what?”

“N-Nothing! In any case, we have to check to see if the village sustained any damage. Let’s go, everyone!”

“Yessir!”

But before the chieftain and the villagers could move to the scene of the accident, the Bear Clan girl whom Kohaku was here to meet stopped them. “Father! What about the matchmaking?”

“It’s canceled!” he snapped. “Do what’s best for the village and give up already!”

“What?!”

Having said his piece, the chieftain led the villagers away, leaving behind his daughter, Kohaku, and Seiryu.

“My, what a horrible accident,” Seiryu said, shooting the Bear Clan girl a friendly smile. “It’s unfortunate, but I suppose the matchmaking will have to end here.”

Kohaku scoffed at how Seiryu loved to charm anyone and everyone. But instead of blushing at Seiryu’s handsome face, his matchmaking partner paled.

“I suppose so,” she admitted after a moment’s pause.

“I hope you’ll find a suitable partner soon.”

Another pause. “Thank you.”

“I’m so glad we could come to an understanding.” Seiryu was still smiling, but Kohaku’s matchmaking partner was growing paler and paler. Fearing that she was ill, Kohaku opened his mouth, but before he could get a word out, Seiryu turned to him and said, “We should leave before we overstay our welcome.”

“Right,” Kohaku replied with a nod. Seiryu had really bailed him out, but he kept his gratitude off his face. It would take the village some time to restore the buildings that the rockslide had damaged. Kohaku walked off, but oddly enough, Seiryu kept pace with a cheery expression. “Why are you following me? You can fly, can’t you? Just hurry on home already.”

Dragons were capable of flight, while beastfolk of the White Tiger Clan could run as fast as the wind once they transformed. Unfortunately, Kohaku couldn’t do that, so his physical prowess was limited to running only a little faster than a normal human. He didn’t hide his curiosity about why Seiryu hadn’t transformed and flown away, and Seiryu tilted his head to the side in response.

“Would you like me to take you home?” Seiryu asked.

“No.”

Was Seiryu teasing him for his inability to transform? Kohaku grimaced at the thought.

“Why not? It’ll take you hours to run back. You’ll save so much time if you let me carry you.”

“There’s no reason to hurry home, and I don’t mind the exercise.”

Truthfully, Kohaku wasn’t looking forward to returning to his village. Not only was it far away, but he’d only just arrived at the Bear Clan village, and he’d barely gotten any time to rest before needing to leave again. He was still tired. But that didn’t mean he wanted this man to lend him aid.

“Is there a reason you don’t want to ride on my back?” Seiryu pressed. “Ah, I know. You’re scared of heights, aren’t you?”

“Huh?”

“Gosh, I didn’t know you were such a chicken. I do prefer flying at a higher altitude, so I suppose that might be too much for the cowardly.”

“Who are you calling cowardly?”

Blood rushed to Kohaku’s head, and he felt a vein throbbing near his temple. He’d never been scared of heights. In fact, Seiryu had been the one who had been too terrified to jump off the waterfall when they were children. Of the two of them, Seiryu was the bigger coward.

Ignorant of the insults Kohaku was mentally hurling at him, Seiryu continued, “Am I wrong? You’re too afraid to ride on my back, right?”

“I never said that!”

“Then, will you?”

“Of course I will!” Kohaku snapped before realizing what he had just said in a fit of pique.

Shit!

But it was already too late.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Seiryu said with a smile. And before Kohaku could stop him, he transformed.

Kohaku tried to yell that he would never get on Seiryu’s back, but before he could even get the first word out, a colossal dragon appeared before him. His protest died on his tongue, and he sucked in a sharp breath. The sight was so magnificent that he even felt a twinge of fear, and for a few moments, he was rendered speechless.

“So this is a dragon,” he whispered, his voice breathless.

Though he’d seen it before from a distance, this was his first time witnessing Seiryu’s transformation up close. Without thinking, he reached out and brushed his fingertips against Seiryu’s long whiskers, which were floating on the breeze. The dragon’s scales shimmered as sunlight reflected off them.

Kohaku was admiring the shifting colors when Seiryu’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Please don’t stare at me like that. It’s a little embarrassing.”

While transformed, Seiryu communicated via telepathy rather than speech. Kohaku didn’t understand what he was so embarrassed about when he looked this resplendent. Earlier, he’d felt a brief spike of anger when comparing himself and his inability to transform to Seiryu—but that feeling vanished the moment Kohaku peered into the sparkling glow of Seiryu’s eyes.

“You’re beautiful,” Kohaku murmured.

Seiryu’s eyes twinkled like shards of shattered gems. Their hue changed depending on the angle at which one gazed upon them. Looking into those eyes was like peering into a kaleidoscope, and Kohaku doubted he would ever tire of discovering the infinite colors of Seiryu’s irises. He was staring right into them when Seiryu smiled, his large eyes narrowing with the movement.

“I thought you didn’t like my draconic form.”

“I don’t.” Pretending that he hadn’t enjoyed the view was a lost cause after all the time he’d spent ogling Seiryu, but Kohaku hurriedly looked away nonetheless. Right, this dragon was Seiryu. It was a little frustrating that he had gotten lost in those eyes.

“Really?” The leviathan dragon tilted his head to the side minutely, clear amusement in his voice. “Well, hop on.”

Kohaku shrank back, wondering if someone of his station could mount such a divine creature. “You’re seriously letting me ride you?”

“If you’re scared of heights, just say so.”

“I-I already told you! I’m not!”

Kohaku hated himself for rising to the obvious bait. He couldn’t help it, though. This is just a normal method of transportation. That’s how I should approach this. And it’s a waste of time to worry about the difference in status if Seiryu’s the one offering to give me a lift. Repeating those words in his head, Kohaku approached the dragon. But the next second, a thought struck him, and he paused.

“Where am I supposed to sit?” he asked.

Seiryu’s dragon form was so large that Kohaku could ride him without affecting his flight, but there was nowhere on his body to hold on to. He’d be flung off within seconds.

“Oh, I’ve never thought about that. You’re the first person I’ve ever offered a ride to. Hmm... What about my head?”

“Your head?”

“You can grab onto my horns. That way, you won’t fall.”

That made sense. Seiryu lowered his snout, and Kohaku climbed up until he was sitting cross-legged on the dragon’s head. When Kohaku placed his hands on the horns that rose up on either side of him, Seiryu’s body twitched violently, but the dragon soon relaxed and made for a steady mount.

“All right,” Kohaku said. “I’m settled in.”

Seiryu’s telepathic voice laughed. “Let’s get going, then.”

Without further ado, he rose into the air. The floating sensation and the sight of the dragon rising from the earth were a little frightening, but the view that spread out before Kohaku’s eyes quickly distracted him from his fear.

“Wow! This is amazing!”

Seiryu snaked through the air, and within seconds, the Bear Clan village became a mere speck. Beyond the settlement was a mountain—a chunk of the mountainside had crumbled away. That must have been where the rockslide occurred. But as Seiryu picked up speed and soared over the ever-changing landscape, the fate of the mountain slipped from Kohaku’s mind.

This was the first time Kohaku had ever seen the world from this height, and before he knew it, he was staring down with sparkling eyes, silently engraving everything into his memory. How beautiful the world was! He saw flowing waterfalls, shimmering lakes, and proud mountains. The columns of smoke here and there were akin to the breaths of life.

“The world is so big,” he whispered.

Kohaku had once believed that destiny was something he could never escape from. That he would be kept a prisoner in his own tribe until the day he died. Even if he wanted to leave, where could he go? The only place in the world for him was that old, dilapidated manor.

As he saw just how expansive the world was, he realized how small and insignificant he was. But because he was so small and insignificant, shouldn’t there be some place out here where he could belong? For the first time in his life, Kohaku felt an interest in the outside world stirring within him.

“Beautiful, isn’t it? I’ve always wanted to show you this sight.”

“Show me?”

“Well, yes. You like beautiful things, don’t you?”

When he was younger, Kohaku had enjoyed diving into lakes in search of pretty rocks. Once, he’d found a piece of jade the same color as Seiryu’s eyes—Kohaku had gifted it to him as a promise that he would one day take Seiryu as his bride.

Back then, he hadn’t known that he would never transform. He’d dreamed of the day he would become an adult and learn how to do so, because that would be the day his father would finally treat him with kindness. Then, he would propose to Seiryu and marry him, and they would be together forever. That had been his vision of the future.

But now that he thought about it, his idea of the future had been an unattainable dream—a ludicrous fantasy only an ignorant child could imagine.

“By the way, why did you accept the matchmaking session?”

“It’s got nothing to do with you.”

After Kohaku said that, he realized how rudely he had been speaking to Seiryu and clicked his tongue. This wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t taken that trip down memory lane.

Seiryu paused for a moment, then asked, “Was she your type?”

“Who are you talking about?”

“The girl who fainted when she saw you.”

“Oh, the one I was on an arranged date with.” What did she even look like? Kohaku couldn’t recall her face at all.

“You were even smiling at her.”

Kohaku grimaced. “When did you get there?”

Didn’t that mean Seiryu had been at the Bear Clan village before he’d spoken up and made his presence known? But Seiryu had appeared from behind Kohaku, so how had he seen what expression Kohaku had been making? The reminder that his smile was so ugly it could cause its beholder to pass out made him want to beg Seiryu to kill him.

“Did you accept the matchmaking session because she was your type?”

“Yeah, sure, let’s go with that.”

Kohaku sighed, not even caring anymore. It was better than the words he’d really wanted to say but had bitten back: You think I have the right to choose a partner based on my preferences? I don’t even have the right to turn down an arranged date, unlike a certain dragon chieftain with romantic interests just crawling out of the woodwork for a chance to mate with him.

Seiryu’s only response was a quiet hum. In the distance, a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky.

“Huh? Hey, did you see that? That was lightning,” Kohaku said.

“It sure was.”

Even as they spoke, rain began falling from the sky, and the fat droplets splashed onto Kohaku’s face.

“Just our luck,” Kohaku muttered. “Looks like quite a heavy storm.”

“Seems so. Should we take shelter until it passes?”

Before Kohaku could agree or disagree, Seiryu began his descent. It didn’t take long for him to find a cave large enough for them. After he lowered Kohaku to the ground, he reverted to his human form.

“Not even the almighty chieftain of the Dragon Clan can control the weather, huh?” Kohaku asked.

No one knew the full extent of the Dragon Clan’s power. Though it depended on an individual’s magic, Kohaku had heard rumors of dragons strong enough to bend weather and landscapes to their will. Of course, he didn’t believe Seiryu capable of that. He was just trying to get a rise out of him.

“Kohaku, there are more important matters to address,” Seiryu said. “We should start a fire. You got drenched, and I wouldn’t want you to fall sick.”

Kohaku peered down at his wet body. The garments that Mashiro had enthusiastically helped him prepare were in a horrible state. Already imagining the lecture he would have to deal with after he got home, Kohaku picked up a few branches from the mouth of the cave and ignited them with a flame he produced from his fingertips. Oddly enough, it was only after the warmth of the fire soaked through his skin that he realized how cold his body had been. He shuffled closer to the fire, and Seiryu sat down next to him, his shoulder pressing against Kohaku’s.

“Hey,” Kohaku snapped. Seiryu’s lack of personal boundaries never changed. Apparently, dragons were sensitive to the cold, so he was probably seeking Kohaku’s body heat, but that didn’t mean he had to sit so close.

“You’re cold too, aren’t you?” Seiryu pointed out, tilting his head and smiling. At this distance, his beauty was practically a weapon, and Kohaku averted his gaze as subtly as he could. “It’s been years since the last time we could just waste the day together like this.”

“I don’t plan to waste my day with you,” Kohaku replied, miffed.

Right then, a sharp crash of lightning rang through the air. It must have struck the ground nearby.

“Oh, but it doesn’t look like you can leave the cave, does it?” Seiryu asked.

Kohaku wasn’t interested in going out and getting wet, and he knew how unsafe it would be to stroll around in the middle of a lightning storm. In lieu of an answer, he just huffed.

Seiryu nodded in approval, then changed the subject. “So, that kid—”

“You still want to talk about the matchmaking session?”

“No, no. I mean the kid you appointed as your attendant.”

“Oh, Mashiro.”

Mashiro must be beside himself with worry right about now and wondering how my arranged date is going. If I return too late, he might get so overwhelmed that he’ll start crying. Kohaku was just hoping he could get back to his village as quickly as possible.

“Mashiro, huh?” Seiryu muttered. “Did you give him that name?”

“I found him when he was a baby, so I don’t know what his original name was.”

“You found him as a baby?” Seiryu rested a hand against his chin. This was his habit whenever he wanted to ponder something. Though a lot of Kohaku’s childhood memories with Seiryu had faded over time, he hated how clearly he could remember little details like this. “In that case, do you see him as your son?”

“What are you trying to say? Is it really so weird of me to dote on a child?”

Kohaku scowled, wondering if Seiryu was trying to poke fun at him—Seiryu rested a hand on Kohaku’s leg to calm him down. A touch-starved childhood had left Kohaku irritatingly weak against contact of this kind. Mashiro’s penchant for physical affection was a large part of why he had wormed his way so deep into Kohaku’s heart.

“I never said it was weird,” Seiryu said. “I just thought that if you view that boy as your child, I should dote on him too.”

“What are you saying? How did you come to that conclusion?”

The firewood crackled, sending sparks into the air. Kohaku’s body was warming up because of his proximity to the fire, and definitely not because of Seiryu’s touch. As much as he wanted to pretend that his weakness to kindness wasn’t affecting him, he could hear for himself how much softer his voice had become.

“You know, Kohaku, we’re the only ones here right now. Won’t you speak to me in a more candid fashion, as you used to?”

Seiryu clenched his hand, and his fingers pressed divots into the flesh of Kohaku’s thigh. Despite the smile on Seiryu’s face, the strength with which he was grabbing onto his leg made it clear that this was closer to an order than a request. That being said, Kohaku could’ve easily shaken him off. But, seeing as they were stuck in the cave until the storm let up, there was no point in needlessly antagonizing Seiryu.

So, Kohaku simply sighed and obliged. “Mashiro’s my kid. Butt out of our affairs.”

“You won’t permit me to treasure what you do?”

“Seriously, knock it off. What’s your deal? Why do you keep trying to get all up in my business?”

Seiryu never failed to annoy Kohaku whenever they had to spend time together. Kohaku knew the reason behind his anger: It was all because of Seiryu’s suggestive behavior. Kohaku wasn’t a very sociable person, but even he could tell that Seiryu was acting way more forward than was appropriate.

Kohaku didn’t want to seem self-conscious, but several times throughout his interactions with Seiryu, he’d wondered, Does he have feelings for me? But he knew for a fact that Seiryu didn’t. Kohaku had asked Seiryu that question multiple times in the past, and he’d always replied with a negative.

“I simply want to spend time with you,” Seiryu said. “Am I not allowed?”

“It doesn’t have to be me, does it? Go bother someone else.”

“No, Kohaku, it has to be you.”

Their conversations always seemed to circle back to this point. Three years ago—or, according to Seiryu, two years, nine months, and twenty-five or twenty-seven days ago—they’d had an argument like this one.

“Do you really pity me that much?” Kohaku snapped.

“I believe we’ve already gone over this. I don’t pity you. I simply wish to be with—”

“Then answer me this—do you like me?”

Kohaku had asked him this exact question three years ago, and even now, Seiryu’s answer remained the same: silence. It was impossible to tell what feelings lurked behind Seiryu’s smile.

Kohaku slapped Seiryu’s hand off his thigh and lay down with his back to him, making it clear how sick he was of this topic.

“I don’t understand you,” Kohaku went on. “I already told you three years ago—I have no intention of playing along with your attempts to stave off boredom with this game of make-believe friendship. Go bother someone else.”

“I...” Seiryu muttered, trailing off.

Without turning around, Kohaku asked, “What?”

Seiryu didn’t answer him or continue his train of thought. Instead, he asked, “How about you?”

“What do you mean?”

“How do you feel about me?”

Ridiculous. Seiryu had no intention of giving Kohaku a straight answer, so what in the world did he want from him?

“Are you under the impression that I’m humoring you because I like you or something?”

“No, Kohaku, that’s not it. Please don’t get the wrong impression. I—”

“I’m not stupid enough to fall in love with someone who doesn’t even like me.”

A pause. “Of course.”

Kohaku hated this aspect of Seiryu’s personality. Every time they talked, he would end up all emotional and flustered. Meanwhile, Seiryu’s face remained fixed in its perpetual cheery smile. What was there to smile about in that conversation just now, anyway? Seiryu’s patronizing attitude really pissed Kohaku off.

Silence fell between the two, and the crackling of firewood was the only sound that echoed off the cave’s walls. Kohaku figured that he might as well catch up on some sleep. However, the moment he decided to do that, he felt something warm brush against his back.

“Hey!”

“It’s cold,” Seiryu murmured.

They had just been arguing, but it was like Seiryu didn’t care at all about that. He hugged Kohaku from behind, using him as a heater even though Kohaku hadn’t given him permission to do so. After shifting around for a bit, Seiryu finally found a comfortable position and let out a sigh of relief.

“You’re so warm.”

Kohaku seriously and genuinely despised this aspect of Seiryu’s personality. Being treated in this way by someone with his beauty would make anyone fall in love. The idea of Seiryu snuggling up to any warm body felt like a weight in Kohaku’s chest.

In times like this, the best thing to do was sleep. He wouldn’t waste energy thinking about things that he couldn’t change. At the end of the day, he and Seiryu were simply incompatible with each other. If he wanted to live as peacefully as possible, he would have to endeavor to keep Seiryu at a distance from now on.

After making that vow to himself, Kohaku closed his eyes and drifted off.

“If only we could stay like this forever.”

Kohaku thought he heard Seiryu whisper something before he lost consciousness, but it must have been a trick of his mind.

***

“...up. Wake up, Kohaku.”

“Ngh, Mashiro, you’re hungry?”

Mashiro was so disastrously clumsy that Kohaku was the one in charge of cooking. It’s that late in the morning?

Kohaku opened his eyes, only to find himself staring into a face so beautiful he swore its radiance would blind him. The sight shocked him enough that he couldn’t even speak for a moment.

“Good morning, Kohaku,” Seiryu said with a cheery smile, his arms still wrapped around Kohaku’s waist.

When Kohaku had fallen asleep, his back had been to Seiryu—had he turned over during the night? Because now, their chests were pressed together. Seiryu was also wide-awake, which meant he had gotten a clear view of Kohaku’s face while it’d been slack in sleep.

“Let me go!” Kohaku struggled to get out of the hold. However, no matter how strong he was, escaping from Seiryu’s arms when they were so secure around him was no easy feat.

“Relax,” Seiryu said, his bright smile never wavering. He released Kohaku and stood up. As he patted himself down and straightened his clothes, he continued, “The rain stopped. Once we have some breakfast, we can go home.”

That calm attitude—as if Kohaku was the only one who cared about the spooning—was infuriating. Kohaku shot to his feet and was about to tidy himself up as well when Seiryu spoke again.

“Will you allow me to tie your hair for you?”

“Huh?”

“You have such lovely hair. It’s a waste to neglect it.”

Lovely? What kind of sick joke is that? Kohaku glared at Seiryu, but Seiryu was apparently being sincere.

“Here, sit,” he said, practically forcing Kohaku down onto the ground.

Seiryu untied the braided cord from Kohaku’s hair and ran a comb through the loose strands. Kohaku had almost no experience with someone else grooming him—he pressed his lips together and fell silent, unsure of what expression he should make. Mashiro had once asked if he could brush Kohaku’s hair, but his curls were so unruly that the comb had kept catching in the knots. The experience had only ended up causing Kohaku pain, so Mashiro had never offered again.

Seiryu would surely give up in a matter of seconds. As expected, the teeth of the comb immediately caught on a knot. But Seiryu patiently detangled it. Every time he finished combing through a section of hair, he gently worked some fragrant oil into the strands before moving on. After he finished, he tied Kohaku’s hair up in a ponytail with the braided cord.

“Ah, you really are so beautiful,” Seiryu murmured.

Even when given such a direct compliment, Kohaku couldn’t understand what he meant. Oddly, the aroma of Seiryu’s hair oil wafting from his ponytail made his ears burn. Being surrounded by another person’s smell should’ve disgusted him, but he didn’t hate this fragrance. In fact, he rather liked it. Not that he would ever tell Seiryu that.

“What a waste of time,” he said.

“Was it really?” Seiryu replied. “I did an excellent job, if I do say so myself. As much as I’d like to tie your hair for you every day, you would probably hate that. So, at the very least, use this for your daily brushing.”

He held out a tortoiseshell comb, and Kohaku accepted it without thinking. He liked the color—it reminded him of his own eyes. But then he came to the sudden realization that he couldn’t possibly accept it, and he quickly tried to shove it back into Seiryu’s hands. By then, though, Seiryu had already walked away, causing Kohaku’s hand to swipe through thin air instead.

“As a fellow beastfolk, I’d prefer it if you took better care of your looks,” Seiryu continued. “Will you accept that comb if I word my request that way?”

Kohaku couldn’t say anything in response. Beastfolk were proud by nature, and even if the other beastfolk ostracized Kohaku, some couldn’t stand him dragging their reputation through the mud with his unkempt appearance.

He touched his freshly combed hair. Though the ends usually curled, the silky strands now flowed easily between his fingers.

If detangling with the comb was enough to tame his hair, then Kohaku wouldn’t mind spending a bit of time and effort on his looks. But the idea of him doing so because of Seiryu pissed him off—he pressed his lips together.

Seiryu clapped his hands. “All right, then. Now that we’ve settled that, let’s forage for some breakfast.” He strolled out of the cave, ending the conversation without waiting for a response.

Despite Seiryu’s self-serving behavior, Kohaku refrained from complaining about it. He placed the comb inside his breast pocket and followed him out. It wasn’t like he wanted the comb or anything. He just thought it would be easier to accept the gift instead of arguing with Seiryu about it. There was no deeper reason behind his actions.

***

A few days after Seiryu escorted Kohaku home, Kohaku’s father summoned him again, so he made his way to the chieftain’s manor in the heart of the village. But when Kohaku heard his father’s unexpected remark, he couldn’t help but blurt out, “Wait a moment—what did you say?”

Kohaku knew he’d messed up the moment the words left his mouth—he didn’t usually respond to his father this way—but he couldn’t take them back.

“You want me to repeat myself?”

His father’s icy glare pierced through him. Since Kohaku usually listened to his father’s words without any accompanying questions, the chieftain must have assumed Kohaku was rebelling against him. But despite seeing his father’s hand tightening around his whip, Kohaku couldn’t simply ignore what he had just heard.

“You wish for me to...have an arranged date with the Dragon Clan?!” he exclaimed. Those had been the exact words. Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined hearing that from his father.

Kohaku’s father grimaced, and he growled. “Just do as you’re told.”

“But Seiryu, the chieftain, is the only member of the Dragon Clan actively matchmaking right now.”

There was just no way this was really happening. No one wanted to have an arranged date with Kohaku, but now he would go on one with Seiryu, the most desired bachelor in their society? The most baffling part of this whole situation was that his father was the one telling him to do this.

Between this command and the other day’s arranged date with the Bear Clan girl, just what was his father thinking? Had he finally decided to kick Kohaku out of the clan? If that really was his goal, there was no need to waste time with matchmaking. He could just exile his son.

“What do you have to complain about?” His father scoffed. “He is far out of your league.”

“I had a matchmaking session the other day that had to be cut short. Isn’t there a chance that they might reschedule it?” Kohaku asked this, though he knew it would never happen.

“Kohaku.”

Oh no. Kohaku knew from the deepening of his father’s voice that he was in real trouble now. He expected it, considering his sudden backtalk—he usually accepted his father’s orders with only a silent nod.

“Kneel,” his father commanded with no other explanation or lead-up.

Kohaku obeyed without question. Resistance was futile. Doing so would only extend the torment.

“Strip.”

At the brusque word, Kohaku shrugged off the upper half of his robes. His body was covered with countless wounds, both old and new. Some were from demon exterminations, while others were from the harsh bullying he’d received from his tribesmen when he’d been much younger and weaker. There were so many that he didn’t even recognize some of them. For example, he didn’t know where the giant scar in the middle of his chest had come from. But the place where he’d suffered the most injuries was...

SNAP!

With a sharp crack, his father brought the whip down on Kohaku’s back, and he stifled his cry of pain. He knew from experience that the more noise he made, the more agonizing his punishment would be, so he bit his lips to keep his voice in check.

The pain didn’t bother him; he was used to it. This would pass. He would simply have to close his eyes and endure, much like he’d done many times in the past.

“Think about why we bother to keep you alive,” his father snarled. “Why do you think you still breathe, even after you murdered your mother?”

“It’s so...I can benefit...the tribe!” Kohaku panted.

From his father’s perspective, Kohaku was the despicable boy who’d caused his wife’s death. Though he’d remarried soon after burying her, he’d only done so for the tribe’s sake. Kohaku’s mother was the only person the chieftain had ever loved, and Kohaku inadvertently killing her with his birth was the root of his hatred for his son.

As a child, Kohaku hadn’t been able to understand his father’s pain: Why doesn’t my father ever embrace me? Why do other children receive unconditional love while I don’t? But now, Kohaku knew that the acrimony stemmed from his father’s undying devotion toward his mother, and he couldn’t blame him. After all, Kohaku was the one who’d stolen his father’s beloved, so of course the chieftain abhorred him.

No, that was a lie—this wasn’t something Kohaku could remain pragmatic about. He’d always desired his father’s love. Even now, he couldn’t give up on that fantasy.

If he could transform, would his father accept him? “Love” might be a tall order, but would he at least spare some room in his heart for Kohaku? Nothing was worse than being alone. Ever since Kohaku was a child, he’d had to endure centuries of solitude. Though he had Mashiro now, Mashiro would die one day, and Kohaku would return to his cold emptiness—something he desperately feared more than anything else.

The collar around his neck was a shackle, but it was also the one thing connecting Kohaku to his father. As long as he had the collar around his neck, he couldn’t escape from his life here. Conversely, it also served as evidence that his father still needed him.

Kohaku’s desire to flee from this life was genuine. But the part of him that clung to hope—the hope that his father would love him if only he could learn to transform—was just as real, no matter how despairing his prospects were.

He thought back to the sights he’d witnessed while on Seiryu’s back. The world was such a vast place, far bigger than Kohaku had ever imagined it. If he abandoned everyone and fled his village, would he be able to toss away his expectations of his father too?

CRACK! CRACK!

The only sounds echoing in the room were the whip striking Kohaku’s body and his father’s breathing. When Kohaku was a child, he’d often compared his punishments to hell. Nowadays, thanks to the passage of time, he could think, “Such a lukewarm hell couldn’t possibly exist.”

“You seem like you can handle more.”

The whip smacked against Kohaku’s lowered head. Stars flashed behind his eyes, but he bit his lip and endured.

“Why is it you, of all people?”

Unsure of what his father meant, Kohaku raised his head, only for the whip to come down on his scalp again.

“Never forget this: There’s no place in this world for a defective specimen like you.” Kohaku grunted as his father’s lashes rained down on his chest and shoulders. “Never hope for others to accept you.”

The words hurt more than the whip. Indeed, there was no need for hope—Kohaku’s father would never accept him, and a weakling incapable of transformation would never find a place in beastfolk society.

After he was finally satisfied, his father lowered the whip. “The meeting will take place tomorrow,” he said. “Clean yourself up, lest you bring further shame to my name.”

“Yessir...”

Of all people, why did Kohaku have to attend an arranged date with him? Kohaku pushed his aching body to his feet, straightened out his clothes, and left. In stark contrast to his dark and gloomy mood, the sun shone brightly outside the manor. Kohaku heaved a resigned sigh.

Why was his father arranging matchmaking sessions for him? For now, Kohaku was an important tool for his father. No one in their tribe could compare to Kohaku in magic, which was why he was sent around their territory any time trouble occurred. So why did his father want Kohaku to have an arranged date with the Dragon Clan? Of the Four Gods, the Dragon Clan was the most influential, so if Kohaku married into the Dragon Clan, he wouldn’t be at his father’s beck and call anymore—that would be a serious issue for the White Tiger Clan. Even if his father didn’t love Kohaku, the tribe still needed him.

The moment that thought ran through his head, Kohaku’s lips twisted into a bitter smile. The answer was simple: A matchmaking session between him and the Dragon Clan would only end in failure.

Everyone knew that the Dragon Clan imposed various conditions that prospective spouses had to meet. But even without those requirements, Kohaku was the ostracized black sheep of the White Tiger Clan, and the Dragon Clan would never accept him. His father had issued this order to make Kohaku embarrass himself.

Seiryu had gone through so many matchmaking sessions that some believed he’d been on a date with every single person in beastfolk society. It was likely a coincidence that Kohaku’s turn had come up at this point in time. Perhaps at this very moment, Seiryu was also surprised at the news of his next date. The schadenfreude lightened the weight in Kohaku’s chest ever so slightly.

His father’s whip was special—it was designed to react to Kohaku’s magic and increase how much pain it inflicted. When Kohaku staggered home, he saw Mashiro sitting by the front door, a worried look on his face.

As soon as Mashiro noticed his arrival, he hurried over and exclaimed, “Lord Kohaku!”

“Calm down. It’s no big deal.”

“What are you saying?! Of course it’s a big deal!”

Kohaku was used to the pain, but every time Mashiro saw him after his punishments, the boy’s expression would twist, like he was about to burst into tears—as if he had been the one on the receiving end of the whip. Before Mashiro’s arrival, Kohaku used to collapse at the entrance of the manor and wait until he recovered enough to move again. Now, Mashiro would help him to his bedroom and clean up his injuries. Kohaku doubted that the boy knew just how soothing his presence was.

“He may be the chieftain, but I’ll never forgive him for doing this to you, Lord Kohaku!” Mashiro’s body was shaking with uncontained rage as he rubbed salve into the open wounds. It stung, but Kohaku withstood it without complaint. With tears welling up in his eyes, Mashiro asked, “What happened this time?”

“He told me to go matchmake with someone.”

“Another one? But why? How did that result in this?”

“He...wants me to go on an arranged date with the chieftain of the Dragon Clan.”

Clatter! The pot of salve fell to the ground. Kohaku turned around to see Mashiro frozen above him, eyes wide.

“Mashiro?”

“The chieftain of the Dragon Clan? That’s the man we met at the banquet, right?!”

“Yeah, that’s him. Hilarious, isn’t it? The chieftain of the Dragon Clan having an arranged date with a reject like m—”

“No, no, no! This isn’t matchmaking—it’s practically a guaranteed marriage!”

“What?”

“Wait, so... Lord Kohaku, you’ll become the Dragon Clan chieftain’s mate?!”

“Uh, no. I may be going on the date, but it’s not going to actually work—”

“You accepted it?!”

“More like I was forced to accept it.”

“Oh my goodness!”

After helping Kohaku put on his robes again, Mashiro jumped to his feet and began pacing around.

“Mashiro?” Kohaku asked. “What’s wrong?”

“If you’ll be marrying into the Dragon Clan, there are so many things we’ll need to prepare,” Mashiro said. “Which village will you live in? I...doubt the Dragon Clan chieftain would live here, so that means you’ll be moving to the Dragon Clan’s village? In that case, we have to start packing!”

“Hey, Mashiro?”

Even after Kohaku called out to him, the boy remained lost in his own thoughts. Mashiro crossed his arms and made to leave the room, muttering under his breath all the while. Right before he left, he turned and said, “Ah, Lord Kohaku! I put medicine on your back, so make sure you stay in bed like a good boy!”

“Y-Yeah, I know. Where are you going?”

“Isn’t it obvious?! There are tons of things I have to do before your wedding to the Dragon Clan chieftain! I have to get as much done as possible while I still have time!”

“Wait, I’m just going on an arranged date, and my marriage isn’t a sure—Mashiro, are you listening to me? Mashiro!”

Despite Kohaku’s efforts to stop him, the boy marched off enthusiastically without lending him an ear. Mashiro could be a little scatterbrained, so he’d likely misunderstood the situation—matchmaking was just an arranged date, and it didn’t always lead to marriage. On top of that, this arranged date was with Seiryu. There was absolutely no chance of this going anywhere. He would have to explain all of that to Mashiro the next opportunity he got.

Even as those thoughts swirled in his head, Kohaku’s body was exhausted from his father’s punishment. It didn’t take long for him to forget about his worries and fall asleep.

And by the time he realized it, it was already the day of his matchmaking session with Seiryu.

***

After running around the manor all morning, Mashiro helped Kohaku dress. After looking him up and down, the boy puffed out his chest. “Please praise me, Lord Kohaku! This is my best work yet!”

“And I already said you didn’t have to go this far, didn’t I?”

Kohaku was clad in a white shenyi with golden embroidery—the favored garb of the White Tiger Clan. He’d never imagined he would get to wear this one day.

“What are you talking about?!” Mashiro exclaimed. “You’ll be meeting the chieftain of the Dragon Clan, remember?! And he’s so beautiful, to boot! We can’t have you losing to him!”

When did this become a competition? Kohaku wondered, though he didn’t ask. After standing all day so Mashiro could help him with his clothes, he was too exhausted to ask for clarification. They’d been at it since morning and were already surrounded by mountains of clothes. Mashiro had repeatedly dressed and redressed Kohaku, rejecting nearly everything for one reason or another. Every single robe had come from the treasure vault in the chieftain’s manor—Mashiro had carried each article of clothing he’d found there to Kohaku’s home.

The Dragon Clan had issued several conditions for this session, and one of them had been to dress Kohaku as a member of the White Tiger Clan. Since this was what the rule specified, they couldn’t possibly let Kohaku go in his usual shabby clothes—that would affect the tribe’s reputation. His father was obsessed with saving face, and so he would never let something like this drag down the clan’s prestige. The moment he’d allowed Mashiro to rifle through the vault, the excited boy had wasted no time in turning Kohaku into his personal dress-up doll. As a finishing touch, he’d stuck a large, gorgeous hairpin into Kohaku’s ponytail and hung jangling golden earrings from his ears.

Kohaku’s father was likely furious right about now. He may have permitted Mashiro to take items from the treasure vault, but he’d surely never imagined that Mashiro would grab as many things as he had. The thought of his father summoning Kohaku after he returned from his matchmaking session was depressing, and he hadn’t even gone on the date yet.

“Lord Kohaku, don’t make that face,” Mashiro said. “Remember to smile!”

“Why are you so passionate about this, anyway?”

Kohaku was happy having Mashiro as the only other person in his life, but Mashiro was being awfully proactive with these preparations. Was the boy so disgruntled with Kohaku that he wanted to shoo him out of his own home?

When he saw Kohaku’s pout, Mashiro’s eyebrows knitted together. “Well, there’s always the chance that you’ll live for thousands of years, right? My lifespan is far shorter than that, so I’d like to find someone who can stay with you—someone who’ll never leave you alone again.”

Kohaku sucked in a sharp breath. Mashiro’s words practically shoved his face into the truth he’d been purposefully averting his gaze from. Yes, Mashiro would die one day—Kohaku had always been well aware of that. Once that happened, Kohaku would return to the empty life he’d led before he’d found and adopted the boy.

No, that’s not right. His time with Mashiro had shown Kohaku how happy life with someone else could be. He could never return to the way he’d been before. The mere thought of himself in this manor all alone caused a painful tightening in his chest.

“Ah, jeez... Lord Kohaku, please don’t make that face. It’s all right! We still have plenty of time together. I’ll stay with you, even if you don’t want me around!”

Kohaku swallowed before he retorted, “I will always want you around.”

Mashiro giggled. “Yes, I know, Lord Kohaku. After all, you love me! There’s always the chance that God will visit me too, so when that day comes, I’ll wish to stay with Lord Kohaku forever!”

If one’s will was strong enough, God would appear before them and grant a single wish. This was a legend that humans passed down in their villages. Mashiro loved this story—ever since he was a child, he would bring it up at almost every opportunity with a cheerful smile.

But Kohaku knew that God would never show up, so he had always thought of this story as a cruel lie. No matter how many times Kohaku wished for salvation, no deity ever came to rescue him. God was unfair; He couldn’t make everyone in the world equally happy. Hilariously, even in made-up stories, God forced those He helped to pay Him a price.

Mashiro was making light of the situation and smiling at Kohaku, but Kohaku couldn’t play along with the levity. He could see his own face—pinched brow, sorrowful gaze, and all—reflected in Mashiro’s eyes. The pathetic expression just made him feel worse.

When did I become so weak?

“Come on, Lord Kohaku. Don’t cry.”

“I’m not.” He was dangerously close to it, though.

“Now’s not the time for such sorry expressions, you know? Today’s the day you claim the Dragon Clan’s chieftain for yourself!”

“How many times do I have to tell you? I’ll never become his mate.”

“Lord Kohaku... You’re kind of slow on the uptake, aren’t you?”

“What?”

“Oh, nothing! Don’t worry about it—just put your trust in me! Everything will work out perfectly.”

You won’t be the one making any decisions, though, Kohaku thought. But Mashiro looked so confident that he held his tongue.

***

As soon as they set foot in the Dragon Clan village, Mashiro looked around with open curiosity. “Wow, so this is their village? Even the air here is different! They really are the most important tribe among the beastfolk.”

“Stop it,” Kohaku said, giving Mashiro’s head a light poke. “Normally, only members of the Dragon Clan can enter this place. They almost never let in other beastfolk, let alone humans. If you don’t act with more propriety, they’ll kick you out.”

“R-Right!”

When the Dragon Clan had proposed the arranged date to Kohaku’s father, their conditions had been as follows: The date had to be today, Kohaku had to bring along his attendant, and Kohaku had to be dressed as a member of the White Tiger Clan. Though they had fulfilled all three clauses, those were only the bare minimum—Kohaku still had to meet the usual conditions for a matchmaking session with the Dragon Clan. After all, if their rules had been lax, then Seiryu’s lack of a mate after two hundred and fifty years wouldn’t have made any sense.

A man silently appeared before them without Kohaku or Mashiro noticing. “I apologize for the wait,” he said. “Please, follow me.”

Though he wore a wan smile on his face, he turned his back to the pair and walked off without waiting for a reply. This was an unspoken request for them to follow him and not ask any questions. He clearly did not relish the prospect of Kohaku and Mashiro wandering around on their own, and Kohaku sensed anew how unwelcome he was.

“Lord Kohaku, the air here is so crisp,” Mashiro whispered from behind Kohaku.

“It’s said that this entire area is under divine protection. It’s probably also thanks to how powerful the current chieftain’s magic is.”

“Is he really that strong?”

“I doubt any of the beastfolk alive today can defeat him.”

“Not even you, Lord Kohaku?”

“Maybe. I don’t know. I’ve never had the chance to spar with him, but if I go all out, consequences be damned, then I might be able to land a blow, at the very least.”

“Doesn’t that make him insanely powerful?”

Kohaku was confident in his strength, but the magic he sensed from Seiryu was overwhelming. If it came down to a battle of pure power, then Kohaku would definitely lose. However, he overshadowed most beastfolk in combat experience. He could, perhaps, defeat Seiryu depending on the time, place, and situation. At least, he hoped he could.

“Ahem.” Their guide stopped and made a show of clearing his throat. He must have been displeased at hearing them discuss Kohaku winning against his beloved chieftain. “Please enter. The chieftain is waiting inside.”

He’d taken them to the front doors of a building that had been painted an eye-catching red. Their guide stayed outside as Kohaku and Mashiro stepped in. As they strolled down the hallway, they admiringly gazed out at the lovely garden it faced.

“Lord Kohaku, that courtyard is so big!” Mashiro exclaimed. “We could fit our entire house inside of it!”

Truthfully, this manor was so much grander than anything Kohaku had ever seen. Though he felt intimidated, he pretended to remain unaffected as he replied, “Move your feet, not your mouth.”

In the past, Kohaku had once stayed the night in the Dragon Clan village, but he’d refused to approach the chieftain’s manor, so he’d never known what it looked like. Though the White Tiger Clan was well-respected and one of the Four Gods, their chieftain’s manor was nowhere near this size or scale.

Is this where he lives? The thought of this being Seiryu’s home poked at Kohaku’s sense of inferiority—he barely suppressed an irritated click of his tongue.

After a few more minutes of walking, they reached a large door. Two children of about Mashiro’s height stood on either side of it, and they bowed their heads when Kohaku stopped before them.

“Welcome.”

“The chieftain is waiting inside.”

The children’s faces were identical, and they both had small horns protruding from their heads. That they could transform at such an early age was a testament to how skilled they were.

Kohaku waited, face tense, as the door opened with a low rumble. He didn’t handle formal situations very well; no one had ever taught him proper etiquette, and he seldom received invitations to such gatherings. He’d come here knowing full well that Seiryu would reject him, but that didn’t mean he could act with impunity. If word reached his father about Kohaku’s rude behavior toward the Dragon Clan chieftain, he would be whipped again. The very thought of that ticked him off.

As soon as the door fully opened, a voice rang out, and all of Kohaku’s anxiety dissipated.

“Oh, Kohaku! I’m so glad you made it! I was waiting for you!”

Seiryu’s voice was high with excitement, and he ran toward Kohaku so quickly that it was like he wanted to hug him. In fact, his arms were extended as if he did intend to give him a hug. Kohaku took a step back to avoid it and lowered his head in a courteous bow.

“I apologize for keeping you waiting. My name is Kohaku, and I hail from the White Tiger Clan.”

“Kohaku? What’s the matter? You’re acting like we don’t already know each other.”

Well, you’re practically a stranger to me now, and this is an official matchmaking session. Isn’t it a given that I’d be acting more formally than usual? Kohaku glared up at him instead of pointing that out. Seiryu looked exasperated for a moment before he returned Kohaku’s gesture with an elegant bow of his own.

“My name is Seiryu, and I am the chieftain of the Dragon Clan. Thank you for taking the time to come here today.” Seiryu tilted his head to the side in a silent, Satisfied? Apparently, this man thought of his arranged date only as a long-awaited chance to speak with Kohaku again.

Already tired of this farce, Kohaku said, “So, I heard a matchmaking session with the Dragon Clan involves multiple terms and conditions—just how does it all work?”

“Ah, yes. For starters, we sit here and have a nice, long chat.”

“A chat?”

Whenever Kohaku and Seiryu conversed, things usually ended in a heated argument. As much as he might have liked to tell Seiryu that he wasn’t interested in talking, he reminded himself that this was an official arranged date. He sat down after Seiryu gestured for him to do so, and Mashiro took up position behind him.

Seiryu looked at Mashiro and smiled. “I take it you’re Mashiro? I look forward to getting to know you better.”

“Huh? Ah, yes, me too! I’m honored to make your acquaintance!” Most beastfolk ignored Mashiro’s presence, so Seiryu acknowledging and speaking to him must have come as a surprise.

Seiryu pointed at the door and continued, “Why don’t you enjoy some snacks with those two? I had them prepare some for you.”

“Um, but...”

The children at the door were young, but they were dragons. Powerful ones as well, if their shoulder-length hair was any indication.

Seeing Mashiro’s hesitation, Kohaku said, “Go. I’ll be fine.”

Mashiro’s expression instantly brightened, and he turned to run off. But right before he did, he looked back at Kohaku and said, “Don’t forget, Lord Kohaku! You have to smile!”

“Just...hurry up and go.”

Mashiro chuckled before finally sprinting off. Hearing Seiryu mention snacks must have been really exciting for him. Kohaku wasn’t all that interested in food, so he’d never bought Mashiro sweets before. Maybe I should give him some in the future...

As Kohaku pondered this, Seiryu placed a cup of tea in front of him.

“He’s a cute one,” Seiryu said with a quiet laugh.

“That’s quite a change from how you thought of him during the banquet.”

“That was then, and this is now. There’s nothing more adorable than a child.”

Seiryu’s usual expression was a cheery yet suspicious smile, but today, he was genuinely in a good mood. It was obvious from his tail—the tip of that long, powerful dragon tail was wagging back and forth behind him. He truly must have mistaken this arranged date for a simple visit.

Kohaku wasn’t here for a social call, but he swallowed his complaint with a mouthful of tea. As the fragrant flavor of the leaves washed over his tongue, he froze in surprise and demanded, “What is this?”

“Hmm? Is it not to your taste? I ordered it specifically for you, but perhaps the leaves have gone stale after being in storage for so long.”

If Kohaku was honest with himself, the tea was exactly to his taste. He didn’t just like it—he loved it. In fact, he hadn’t even known tea could be so delicious until this moment. Without responding to Seiryu, he took another sip, and Seiryu’s troubled expression returned to its usual smile.

“Ah, so you like it,” he said. “I’m glad.”

“Were these leaves expensive?”

“If you enjoy them, I’m more than happy to give you some.”

“No. I’ll buy them myself.”

“Oh, come now, don’t be that way. I got the tea leaves for you, but if you don’t want them, I’ll just toss them away.”

Why in the world would you do that? Don’t waste perfectly good tea leaves. Kohaku glared at Seiryu. This time, Seiryu chuckled as he refilled Kohaku’s cup.

“If you take the leaves off my hands, then it’ll solve both our problems,” he said.

After thinking for a moment, Kohaku conceded, “I suppose it’s better than you throwing them out.”

Seiryu always did whatever he wanted. Even though Kohaku disliked his inconsiderate attitude, he always ended up bowing to Seiryu’s will.

“Ah, right. I forgot to mention something...” Seiryu said.

Kohaku tensed. He was finally going to bring up the conditions for matchmaking with a member of the Dragon Clan. Since there was no way he could meet their rigid standards, Kohaku could bid Seiryu farewell after hearing them.

“You’re always beautiful, but you look especially lovely today.”

The words were so unexpected that it took Kohaku’s mind a second to catch up.

“What?” he asked, mouth agape. Me? Always what? Beautiful? And what else? I look especially...what? Lovely? Today? This made no sense. Were the sounds that had come out of Seiryu’s mouth truly intelligible words?

“This is a rare opportunity, so I asked that you get all dolled up for me. I’m glad I included that as one of the conditions, even if I never imagined you would come in such fanciful garments and accessories.”

“Wait, you were the one who came up with that one?!” Kohaku had been under the impression that dressing up was a common rule everyone had to follow when they had an arranged date with the Dragon Clan.

“I’m the chieftain, remember? Who else would come up with the requirements?”

“That’s not what I meant! I thought dressing up was something you made everyone do for an arranged date, which was why I went out of my way to—”

“Kohaku!” Before Kohaku could finish speaking, Seiryu grabbed his hands with a bright smile. “You were so eager for an arranged date with me that you put this much effort into styling your hair and clothes?!”

“No! I thought this was the bare minimum I needed to do to uphold the White Tiger Clan’s reputation!” That was the truth, and yet Kohaku’s cheeks burned. From anger, of course. It definitely wasn’t from embarrassment.

Seiryu laughed. “I’m just kidding. Don’t be so angry; I’m not that much of a fool.”

Now that Seiryu had admitted that he was just messing around, Kohaku clicked his tongue—though, in truth, this wasn’t the place to let out his true feelings. Seiryu was in complete control of the situation.

“Just tell me what the conditions are for the arranged date!” Kohaku snapped. Once Seiryu told him what they were, he would march straight back home, and no one could stop him.

Kohaku was still fuming as Seiryu tilted his head to the side and said, “I can’t tell you.”

“What?”

“I said I can’t tell you what the conditions are for the arranged date.”

“Wait—how in the world are we supposed to have a matchmaking session if I don’t know what the terms are?”

“We’re having it right now, aren’t we?”

Kohaku took a calming breath. “There are special terms and conditions when matchmaking with the Dragon Clan, right?”

“Yup, that’s right.”

“And yet, you can’t tell me what they are?”

“That’s also right.”

“Are there really special conditions?” Or were these rules set up by the Dragon Clan as a ruse to allow its members to marry based on their personal preferences?

Seiryu, gazing into Kohaku’s eyes, must’ve guessed what he was thinking. He huffed with laughter before saying, “Everyone in the Dragon Clan knows what the conditions are. We just can’t tell people outside the tribe.”

“I see.”

So the special conditions existed, but the Dragon Clan wouldn’t tell the arranged date what they were. Kohaku guessed that it was more important to see whether the romantic prospect could fulfill those hidden clauses without knowing what they were. None of that mattered, though—Kohaku wasn’t the sociable or friendly type, so he would surely fail.

“When will you tell me if I pass or not?” he asked.

“I can now, but do you already wish to know? Since you’re here, why don’t we spend some more time toge—”

“Spit it out.”

Kohaku glared at him, and Seiryu shrugged before clapping his hands. The man who’d guided Kohaku to the manor seemed to materialize from out of nowhere. He handed a piece of paper to Seiryu, who held it out to Kohaku with a smile.

“Here, take this.”

Kohaku accepted it, read the words written on it, and froze. No way. This has to be a dream...or perhaps I’ve misread. But no matter how many times Kohaku’s eyes ran over the words on the paper, they never changed.

When Kohaku spoke, his voice came out in a yell. “What’s the meaning of this?!”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, this can’t be real!” Kohaku shoved the paper, which read, “You have met the first condition of the arranged date,” into Seiryu’s face. “What do you mean I’ve met the condition?!”

“Do you not know what the definition of that term is? To meet a condition means that—”

“I know what the words mean! I’m asking why I passed!”

“Hmm. I’m not sure what you want me to say except that you passed.”

“All I did was sit down and drink tea!” He hadn’t even been nice to Seiryu. So how in the world could he have successfully gotten past the first stage of the matchmaking session? It made no sense. “Tell me what the condition was!”

“Weren’t you listening? We can’t tell people outside of the Dragon Clan.”

“Then, cancel this date! This never happened!” Riddled with shock and confusion, Kohaku didn’t even know what he was saying. However, as soon as he made his demand, Seiryu’s voice shifted away from its usual friendly tone.

“I can’t do that.”

“What?!”

“Listen, Kohaku. This is the Dragon Clan’s collective will. The tribe was the one that made the decision, so I can neither disregard nor overturn it.”

He narrowed his eyes, and the expression was so unfamiliar that Kohaku almost took a step back. But then he stopped himself with a mental slap and glared right back at Seiryu.

“The Dragon Clan’s collective will?” he growled. “You mean that this arranged date is what everyone in your tribe wants? Enough with the bullshit! Are you all trying to mock me or something?!”

“Why would you think that? From the very beginning, we’ve been sincere in our preparations for this matchmaking session with you. You successfully passed the first stage, so you can proceed to the next one. In fact, your assumption that we went to all this effort for a joke is far more insulting. What could we possibly gain from wasting our own time?”

Kohaku had no rebuttal. Seiryu was right—the Dragon Clan was busy. They would never set up an arranged date that they knew would end in rejection; Kohaku had been the one who’d come up with that idea.

So instead of continuing down that line of questioning, he asked, “You said this was the first stage, right?”

“Mm-hmm, that’s right.”

“So, there are other conditions I have to meet?”

“Yes, there are.”

Seeing Seiryu’s nod calmed Kohaku down slightly. The shock of his success had impeded his ability to think straight, but maybe this was normal—maybe all the other arranged dates had passed this segment as well. He would certainly fail to meet the other conditions of the Dragon Clan.

“Fine,” he said. “Then what’s the next stage of the matchmaking session? Should I come here another day?” The most important thing right now was for Kohaku to return to his manor and calm down, but before he could stand up, Seiryu reached out a hand to stop him.

“No,” Seiryu said with a slow shake of his head. His expression morphed into a delighted smile, and the sight of it caused a sense of foreboding to stir inside Kohaku. “In order to get to know one another better, we’ll be staying together for a month.”

“WHAT?!”

Who would live with whom?! Those words were so far beyond anything Kohaku could have ever imagined that he could only stare at Seiryu with his mouth agape.

***

Kohaku, still flabbergasted by the turn of events, followed Seiryu to a wide, comfortable-looking room. A refreshing breeze blew in from the open window, carrying with it the fragrant aroma of the osmanthus planted outside. All of the furniture inside the room was decorated with elaborate designs and ornaments. The bed frame in particular stood out—a detailed dragon had been carved into its headboard. The design hammered home the reality that Kohaku was in the Dragon Clan’s village, but after spending countless nights curled up in the corner of a bed on its last legs, he was more interested in knowing whether it was as comfortable as it looked.

“Here’s the room we prepared for you,” Seiryu said. “Is it to your liking?”

Unable to be honest with his feelings, Kohaku looked away and replied, “It doesn’t look like a terrible place to stay.”

Seiryu didn’t seem bothered by Kohaku’s answer. He cheerily led Kohaku by the hand and sat him down on the bench in the middle of the room. He then took the spot next to him, as if it were the most obvious place for him to sit, and smiled at Kohaku.

“Is there something on my face?” Kohaku asked.

“No. It’s just so novel to see you here.”

Kohaku, too, had never believed that he would set foot in the Dragon Clan’s village again. But since he was here now, he figured he might as well stop worrying about the little things and enjoy spending his days in a luxurious home. Considering how difficult it was to gain access to this village, he wanted to take the opportunity to explore as well. Kohaku pondered his next course of action for a little while, and Seiryu’s smile never once wavered as he gazed continuously upon Kohaku’s face.

“By the way, how long do you plan on staying here?” Kohaku asked. When Seiryu responded only with a silent tilt of his head, he continued, “Do you not have work to do, Chieftain of the Dragon Clan?”

Even though Kohaku was indirectly telling Seiryu to get out, Seiryu didn’t stand up. Still sitting on the bench, he shook his head and replied, “Of course I do. I always have plenty of tasks to keep me occupied, but I’ve already finished all my responsibilities for the day.”

“I see...” So, in other words, Seiryu had no intention of leaving. Kohaku grimaced, but in the next second, he realized that he could get up and go. “I’d like to see what’s outside. Is that all right?”

“Of course. I’ll show you around.”

“No. I’ll be fine—”

“This is a big village, so you’ll get lost if you wander around on your own. I’ll give you a grand tour of the entire place, with no stone left unturned. Mashiro’s snack time should be about over as well, so we can go fetch him.”

Right, Kohaku had completely forgotten about Mashiro. As a human, the boy couldn’t follow Kohaku’s scent either. Perhaps he’d gone back to the room they’d been in earlier and was perplexed by Kohaku’s absence. As soon as Kohaku imagined Mashiro’s bewildered expression, he couldn’t stop thinking about him, and he found it a little hard to sit still.

Seiryu held Kohaku’s hand and led him out of the room. “As adorable as it is, I can’t help but feel a little jealous.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Nothing, nothing.”

As they made their way through the manor, Kohaku tried multiple times to shake off Seiryu’s hand, but Seiryu’s grip was so tight that he couldn’t free himself. Whenever the pair passed by members of the Dragon Clan, the villagers would stare with such obvious shock that it invigorated Kohaku’s attempts to squirm out of Seiryu’s hold. But despite Seiryu’s cheery smile, his hand never budged.

“Hey, let go,” Kohaku said.

“Did you already forget? I can’t. We’re matchmaking right now. It’s one thing for you to distance yourself when we’re alone, but when we’re around others, you should look a bit more enthusiastic about our date, don’t you think?”

Kohaku’s heart skipped a beat. His father cared deeply about his reputation—he surely expected this to go nowhere, but he would be furious if he learned that Kohaku’s poor attitude had messed things up. Caving to the pressure, Kohaku stopped resisting and let Seiryu pull him along.

“I’m such a snake,” he thought he heard Seiryu mutter. But the strong wind was too loud for Kohaku to hear the words clearly.

“Did you say something?” Kohaku asked.

Seiryu shook his head and refused to answer the question.

***

As Seiryu had said, the Dragon Clan’s village was an overwhelmingly large place. It was surrounded by tall mountains and boasted a plentiful water supply, meaning that they could grow their own fruits and vegetables. They likely never wanted for food. Kohaku was jealous of the village’s abundant resources, but what made him the most envious was the last location Seiryu showed him.

“This is the best place in the entire village,” Seiryu said.

He had taken Kohaku to a steaming spring. It was the first time Kohaku had ever seen such a sight, and he gasped. How was water emitting smoke? Curious, he touched the water and got his answer.

“It’s...hot?”

Seiryu nodded. “That’s right. This is what we call a hot spring.”

“A hot spring?”

“The water here promotes healing to those who soak in it. The spring water can also cure illnesses if you drink it.”

Reluctant as he was, Kohaku had to admit, “That’s amazing.”

“The Dragon Clan doesn’t do well in the cold, so this hot spring is very important to us.”

“Then are you sure it was a good idea to show me this place?”

“Of course I’m sure. You’ll become my mate, after all.”

“We still haven’t finished with our matchmaking, remember?”

“Ha ha, yes, you’re right.”

Seiryu’s ability to say such things as part of banter was one of his biggest character flaws. He must have charmed all of his matchmaking partners with similar comments and strung them along. If he keeps playing with fire, he’ll get burned, Kohaku thought with an exasperated shake of his head. But then, a flower petal dancing on the wind distracted him from his thoughts. He reached out and allowed the petal to settle in his palm.

Seiryu’s eyes widened before his usual smile softened into something much sweeter. “You really are amazing.”

“Because I caught a flower petal?”

“It’s not the right season—those flowers aren’t supposed to be blooming yet.”

“Really?”

Kohaku looked down at the pale pink petal in his hand. It had been a coincidence that he’d noticed this small thing fluttering from the tree, but finding out that he’d seen something rare for this time of year made him happy.

“The villagers of the Dragon Clan have a saying about this flower. Would you like to hear it?” Seiryu asked, eyes sparkling.

“If you want to talk about it, then do so.” Kohaku held the petal between his fingers and looked it over. As interested as he was in this Dragon Clan saying, he wasn’t the kind of person who could openly admit that.

Kohaku’s lukewarm response didn’t bother Seiryu. Still smiling, he said, “Mates who receive that flower’s blessing will give birth to many children and bring prosperity to the Dragon Clan.”

“A flower’s blessing?” It must be some sort of poetic metaphor lauding the blossom’s beauty. Kohaku tried to picture Seiryu standing amid the falling petals with his lovely mate leaning against him. The cheerful sight would be dazzling indeed, but that happiness was one Kohaku could never obtain for himself, no matter how much he tried to reach out for it. Unable to give voice to his envy, Kohaku ended up spitting out an insult instead. “Ridiculous.”

Seiryu was used to this kind of response, though. Instead of getting angry, he stared up into space, his gaze fixed at a point above Kohaku’s head, and sighed, “I’m sure the sight of my mate surrounded by these petals would be most sublime.”

Unable to bear looking at Seiryu as the man lost himself in fantasies of his yet-unseen bride, Kohaku turned away and took a few steps forward. “Just take me to where Mashiro is.”

In the future, when Seiryu found a lovely bride to spend the rest of his life with, where would Kohaku be, and what would he be doing? Would he remain chained to his tribe? Or would he have finally escaped to explore the wide world outside of the White Tiger Clan? Kohaku didn’t know what awaited them years down the road, but he knew that he didn’t want to bear witness to Seiryu finding happiness with someone.

Was this jealousy toward a childhood friend who was making a life for himself before Kohaku could? Or did his negative feelings stem from an entirely different emotion altogether? Kohaku couldn’t even figure that out.

***

“Whoa...”

Kohaku had taken Mashiro to the room the Dragon Clan had prepared for his matchmaking stay. The boy looked around, mouth hanging open, and once he finished surveying everything, he shot Kohaku an impressed look. “Lord Kohaku, we really should continue living here after you marry Lord Seiryu! This one room is leagues better than our entire home!”

Mashiro’s words gave the impression that Kohaku was on board with becoming Seiryu’s mate, so Kohaku hurriedly scolded him. “Mashiro!”

Next to him, Seiryu burst into laughter. “You’re such an adorable boy, Mashiro! I’ve taken a shine to you. I hope we can become friends.”

“Huh? Uh, yes, of course! I’d be honored!”

Seiryu had laughed so hard that tears were gathering in the corners of his eyes. Kohaku scowled, annoyed at the perceived mockery. Seiryu then extended his hand to Mashiro for a handshake, and the boy blinked in surprise. Seeing this, Kohaku stomped to the chair in the middle of the room and rapped his knuckles against the table next to it.

“Mashiro! Tea!” he ordered.

“Sure thing, Lord Kohaku. You always get so pouty when things don’t go the way you want them to.”

“Mashiro!”

If they’d been the only people in the room, Kohaku wouldn’t have gotten on Mashiro’s case about his language, but he didn’t want Mashiro to talk about him being pouty in front of Seiryu. How would Mashiro ever make it up to Kohaku if he gave Seiryu the impression that his master was childish?

As Kohaku was fuming about Mashiro’s behavior, Seiryu settled down in the chair in front of him. He held up his hand to stop Mashiro from making tea. “Wait a second. You’ll upset the tea leaves if you brew them like that.”

“Huh?” Mashiro blinked, perplexed.

“Just watch.”

Seiryu took the tools from Mashiro and began preparing the tea himself. Instead of starting with the tea leaves, he filled the pot with hot water, poured the water into the cups to warm them, and then emptied them again. After he topped off the pot, he placed it back down on the table and waited.

“You’re not putting in the tea leaves?” Kohaku asked.

“The water is still too hot,” Seiryu explained. “Each type of tea has an optimal temperature for brewing.”

“An optimal temperature!” Mashiro murmured, sounding impressed. This was also the first time Kohaku had ever heard of such a thing.

They waited a while longer, and then Seiryu tipped the tea leaves into the pot. The three of them enjoyed the refreshing fragrance of the brewing leaves, and after a bit more time, Seiryu finally poured the tea into the cups.

“Enjoy,” he said.

At his urging, Kohaku took a sip. Without thinking, he murmured, “It’s delicious.”

“You should have some too.” Seiryu handed a cup to Mashiro, who accepted it with an embarrassed look.

Mashiro, too, looked surprised after his first taste. His reaction was the same as Kohaku’s. “It’s good!”

“Mashiro, once you master the basics, you can bring out the best in any blend of tea leaves,” Seiryu explained. “While you’re here, why don’t you learn the proper method of brewing tea? I’ll assign you a teacher.”

“You really will?!”

“I would never lie about something like this. We should also teach you some proper etiquette. I’ll ask your instructors to start your lessons tomorrow.”

“Thank you so much!”

“Ah, and I’ve also set up the room next to this one for you to stay in. You can spend your nights in there.”

“Wow! You even prepared a whole room for me?! W-Wait, no, I can’t impose that much on your hospitality! I’m perfectly happy staying here with Lord Kohaku!”

Mashiro and Kohaku usually slept in the same room, but that was for practical reasons. Their house wasn’t big enough for them to have separate spaces.

“I’m afraid I cannot allow that,” Seiryu said with a shake of his head. “Right now, Kohaku is here as my matchmaking prospect. I can’t permit him to sleep with another man.”

“W-We’re not s-sleeping together!” Mashiro stammered.

“Of course—I’m aware of the true nature of your relationship with him. I’m just saying that we should avoid any misunderstandings. You should keep that in mind going forward.”

“Yes, Lord Seiryu...”

“For now, why don’t you check out your room? I’m sure you’ll like it.”

With that, Mashiro left to investigate his temporary bedroom, a glum look on his face.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you take care of Mashiro as well,” Kohaku said. Teaching Mashiro etiquette was supposed to be his duty. Though Kohaku believed he’d raised Mashiro to be a full-fledged member of their society, Kohaku himself had no knowledge of proper manners, so he’d ended up embarrassing the boy.

It was upsetting to realize how incompetent he was as a surrogate parent. He kept Mashiro with him because he selfishly refused to return to a life of solitude. It would be better for Mashiro if Kohaku placed him in the care of a human village, and Kohaku knew that. So that was why, to make it up to Mashiro, Kohaku did his absolute best to give the boy everything he wanted. But Kohaku lacked far too many things to raise Mashiro right.

“It just so happened that I could do this for him,” Seiryu said. “Besides, I’m the one who would be inconvenienced by his constant presence.”

“Huh?”

Inconvenienced? What does he mean? Kohaku had lowered his head during his brief bout of self-deprecation, but he raised it now and met Seiryu’s eyes. Seiryu was giving him his full attention, staring as if he refused to let even the smallest gesture escape his notice. The way Seiryu looked at him never failed to make Kohaku uncomfortable.

“Well,” Seiryu continued, “why do you think he might inconvenience me?”

He always did this—fishing for answers from Kohaku. Was he pretending to have feelings for Kohaku just to mess with him and knock him off-balance? This handsome dragon must have had plenty of experience in romance. That was the complete opposite of Kohaku, the most despised person in his tribe. Karin, for example, was someone Seiryu must have had a fling with. The thought of Seiryu’s past conquests caused an uncomfortable stirring in Kohaku’s chest, and he averted his gaze.

“Lord Kohaku!” Mashiro rushed back in from his tour of his room, practically breaking down the door as he reentered. “It was amazing! They gave me a proper bed! I can’t believe I’ll get to sleep on something that luxurious all by myself!”

Stop, Mashiro! If you describe it like that, you’ll make Seiryu wonder what you usually sleep on!

As Kohaku had feared, Seiryu tilted his head to the side with an inquisitive look. “A proper bed? What do you mean?”

“O-Oh! Um, well, i-it was just so much fancier and comfier than what I sleep on at home!” Mashiro trailed off with dry laughter, wildly waving his hands to sell the story. He must have thought that if he was honest about them sleeping on a beat-up bed missing half its slats, Seiryu would lose interest in Kohaku as a potential partner.

“Is that so? I’m glad that you like it so much.”

Thanks to Mashiro’s acting, the atmosphere was no longer as odd as it had become a few seconds ago, and Kohaku sighed in relief. Mashiro had really bailed him out. It wasn’t like he enjoyed his needless arguments with Seiryu.

“Kohaku.” Seiryu placed his hand over Kohaku’s. “If there’s anything else you desire, just say the word. It is my duty to make arrangements to guarantee that you two enjoy your time in our village.”

“We’re already satisfied with what you’ve done for us.”

If Kohaku had to request something, he would have asked for Seiryu to leave the room immediately. But he knew he couldn’t possibly say something like that, so he simply slid his hand out from under Seiryu’s and shook his head in silence.

However, despite Kohaku’s unspoken wishes, Seiryu continued to stay in the room. Kohaku only succeeded in kicking Seiryu out when the chieftain tried to bathe and eat dinner with them. But after Seiryu had washed up, he came right back to Kohaku’s room.

By the time Kohaku realized how late it was, it was already time for everyone to sleep. As a child, Mashiro had an early bedtime—the boy drowsily rubbed his eyes and returned to his room with a “Good night.”

The moment Mashiro left, Kohaku glared at Seiryu. Surely he’d had enough of bothering Kohaku for one day...

“How much longer do you plan on sitting here?”

“Hmm... I have work tomorrow, so I can’t stay with you at all hours. Unfortunately, I’ll have to bid you farewell in the morning.”

“What?” Morning? Did this man just say he would be here all night? “Enough with the jokes. Go back to your room.”

“Oh? I must have forgotten to tell you. This is my room.”

Wait, what was that? Did Seiryu just say that this is his room?

“Huh?” Before he even realized he was doing it, Kohaku looked around the room he’d spent his entire day in. Now that he was paying attention, he could see piles of documents on the desk and familiar items decorating the shelves—signs of life that otherwise didn’t belong in a guest room. “Didn’t you say that this room had been prepared for me?”

“It has been! We tidied up my room for you.”

“Hold on. So the reason you’ve been here this whole time is—”

“Because this is my room, of course.”

Kohaku’s mouth hung open for a moment. Then his face flushed red, and he bellowed, “Take me to a guest room at once!”

Unbelievable! Who would escort an arranged date to their own bedroom?! This had to be a deeply personal space for Seiryu, yet he didn’t hesitate to let all his matchmaking partners in here? Kohaku would never understand how he could do that.

Though Kohaku’s manor was a dilapidated mess, he still treasured it as his home. He could count on one hand the number of people who’d passed through its doors—nowadays, Mashiro was the only person he permitted inside. The idea of letting anybody and everybody into a place that was supposed to be one’s only sanctuary in the world was incomprehensible.

“I can’t do that,” Seiryu said. “We’re still in the middle of our matchmaking session, after all. This is something we must do to get to know each other better.”

“After all these years, what else could you possibly need to know about me?!”

“Let’s see... What kind of house do you live in? How does the White Tiger Clan treat you?”

Kohaku bit his lip as the conversation took an off-putting turn. For obvious reasons, he’d never once brought up any of those topics with Seiryu. Who in their right mind would willingly discuss how wretched their life was? Did Seiryu want him to admit that he lived in a leaky, ramshackle home that couldn’t at all compare to this fancy abode? That the other members of the clan ignored him, and he was basically treated like a collared pet?

“Oh? So the rumors are true?” Seiryu said.

“I don’t know what rumors you’ve heard. No one would ever share gossip with me.”

“Kohaku.” Seiryu’s firm voice made it clear that he had no intention of letting Kohaku change the subject.

The pair glared at each other for a moment, but Kohaku was the first to concede. “What of it? If a worthless black sheep isn’t a suitable partner for you, then just call off this farce of an arranged date.”

“Worthless? Who said that to you?”

“Hah! You’re seriously asking me that? Ah, right, I guess no one would insult me within your earshot. Not that you would care whether people talk about how the useless black sheep of the White Tiger Clan can’t even transform ye—”

“Kohaku, are you saying that the White Tiger Clan doesn’t care about you?”

A surge of anger rose within Kohaku because he knew that Seiryu’s words were the truth. He knew they were, but it still hurt to have someone verbally confirm it to him.

“They don’t care about me? Well, I’d like to see who does! You and I lead completely different lives! Stop trying to force your values and worldview onto me!”

No one cared about Kohaku. No, that was a lie—he’d once thought he’d found someone who would treasure him. That someone was the very man standing before Kohaku right now. However, Seiryu had gone against Kohaku’s expectations. Seiryu had betrayed him.

Yet Seiryu’s attitude kept giving Kohaku false hope. As much as he didn’t want to put his faith in the man again, Kohaku couldn’t help but think, What if... whenever he heard the worry coloring Seiryu’s voice. There was no way that Seiryu liked him. Kohaku knew that the moment he offered Seiryu his trust, he would have to go through the pain of betrayal again.

“Stop butting into my life to satisfy your own curiosity!” Kohaku yelled. He jumped to his feet, but Seiryu grabbed his arm before he could stalk off.

“I didn’t mean to anger you,” Seiryu said. “I merely wished to know the situation you’re currently in. If my words caused you pain, I apologize. Please don’t leave.”

Kohaku dearly wanted to shake Seiryu off, but the grip Seiryu had on him was so tight that it wouldn’t be easy to slip away. Also, as frustrating as it was, he had to admit that Seiryu was right. Asking questions and getting to know more about one’s arranged date was normal during a matchmaking session. Kohaku was the one who’d overreacted—his inferiority complex had caused him to take Seiryu’s words the wrong way.

“I’m going to sleep,” Kohaku muttered. Instead of pulling himself from Seiryu’s hold, he pried the fingers from his arm. He stood up and walked over to the bed, but when he settled on his side, Seiryu immediately climbed on top of him. “Hey!”

“I said this is my room, didn’t I? There’s only one bed, so I’ll be sleeping with you tonight.”

“In that case, I’ll sleep somewhere else!”

Kohaku was used to sleeping on the floor. Even if it meant spending the night on the ground or on the bench, he refused to share the bed with Seiryu. But when he tried to get up, Seiryu pressed him back down onto the mattress.

“Kohaku, we’ll just be sleeping together. Why are you acting so shy?”

“I’m not!”

“But my presence is clearly weighing on your mind—that’s why you can’t sleep next to me, right?”

“That’s not it!”

“Oh, well in that case, it’s all right for us to sleep in the same bed, isn’t it?”

“Of course it is!”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

He got me again! Kohaku thought when he saw the smile on Seiryu’s face. Now that Kohaku had given the okay, Seiryu wasted no time—he rolled over and curled up next to his matchmaking partner.

Kohaku felt shy about the prospect of sleeping next to someone because this was something he had dreamed of since he was a small boy. When he was younger, he’d learned that young children often slept with their parents, and he’d often wondered how it would feel to sleep in his father’s embrace. He was now an adult, though, and he wasn’t so childish that he needed someone to keep him company at night.

In the past, he’d occasionally slept with Mashiro, but that had only been when Mashiro was much younger. Though they spent the night in close quarters, they never pressed up against each other like Seiryu was doing now.

“We often napped like this when we were younger,” Seiryu murmured. “Do you remember those days?”

“I don’t.”

Truthfully, Kohaku did remember. He still recalled how they would gather up fallen leaves and place a piece of fabric over them to create a soft bed. They would then lie down on it together and laugh with each other as they stared up at that bright azure sky.

Back then, Kohaku hadn’t known the true meaning of loneliness. Seiryu had always been by his side, and every time their eyes had met, Seiryu would tell Kohaku that he loved him. The knowledge that someone in the world adored him had given Kohaku confidence. He’d been able to believe that, as long as he had Seiryu, he wasn’t alone.

Of course, all of that had turned out to be a lie.

“Kohaku, I haven’t changed from the boy I was back then.”

Stop lying. You’re a completely different person now. The Seiryu I knew is gone. You always have that suspiciously cheery smile plastered on your face, and you constantly try to charm everybody around you, regardless of who they are. You never say you like me anymore. That’s not the Seiryu I knew back then.

***

The next morning, Kohaku woke up far earlier than he usually did, thanks to a suffocating sensation. He opened his eyes and froze when he found himself staring into a ridiculously pretty face.

Again? Bastard. Seiryu had pulled Kohaku into a tight embrace to soak up his body heat. He slid his arm out of the hold and irritably slapped Seiryu’s cheek a few times.

Seiryu groaned and muttered, “What’s wrong, Kohaku?”

“That should be my line. Get off me.”

“Don’t wanna. I’m still sleepy.”

Seiryu drew Kohaku closer and buried his face against Kohaku’s chest, attempting to snooze some more. Who knew that Seiryu suffered from such atrocious sleep inertia? Kohaku tried to shove Seiryu off, but for someone fast asleep, he held on tightly. Right as Kohaku gave up and fell limp, Mashiro, who had never slept in a separate room from Kohaku before, barged in.

“Lord Kohaku, good mor—” He froze when he saw the two of them in bed.

“Wait, stop, you’ve misunderstood something...” Kohaku tried.

Normally, only family slept so close together. Though Kohaku tried to correct Mashiro’s perception of the situation, Mashiro hurriedly turned away and stammered, “M-My apologies! I never expected... I didn’t think that you two would have already taken the next step in your relationship!”

“We didn’t. Mashiro, calm down. This really is just a big misunderstanding.”

“N-N-Now that I think about it, I should’ve seen this coming! You two are to become mates, so it’s a given that you would do such things together!”

“Are you listening?! Nothing happened!”

“Lord Kohaku! There’s no reason to be making excuses! How else would you explain this situation?!”

“He’s right,” murmured Seiryu, butting into the conversation. “There’s no point in making excuses, you know?”

Kohaku looked down at the man against his chest. Seiryu, eyes wide open, continued in a voice that was biting back laughter, “You were wonderful last night!”

“See?!” Mashiro yelled triumphantly.

“That’s not what happened!” Kohaku hollered. Seiryu was pressing his face against his chest again, so he lightly punched him on the head and gave him a scolding. “Stop messing with him! He’s just a kid.”

Seiryu laughed. “You two were having so much fun and making so much noise at this early hour that I had to join in.”

“Who in their right mind would make a situation more complicated just so they could join a conversation?!”

Having had enough of Seiryu’s shenanigans, Kohaku pushed him away. Still fuming, he rolled out of bed. His hair was a bird’s nest, and his nightgown was sliding off his shoulders.

Mashiro blinked owlishly at Kohaku’s state of disarray. “What were you two doing all night?! Your clothes are a mess!”

“That’s because this guy was using me as a body pillow!”

“He’s right, Mashiro. The relationship between Kohaku and me is a pure one. For now, anyway.” Seiryu then placed a length of fabric over Kohaku’s shoulders. It was the teal robe Seiryu had worn yesterday. “It’s not good to show so much skin around a child. You should wear some proper clothes.”

Seiryu adjusted Kohaku’s collar and helped him into a shenyi that doubled as a coat. When Kohaku turned around, he saw that at some point, Seiryu had changed out of his nightgown and was ready to start the day.

“Y-You two slept together, right?” Mashiro asked, still looking flabbergasted.

“I haven’t told you this yet, but this is actually my room,” Seiryu replied in a casual tone. “We’ll be spending as much time as possible together until our matchmaking ends.” He then continued helping Kohaku with his clothes.

Kohaku should’ve probably gotten angry at Seiryu for treating him like a kid, but it felt good to let someone take care of him. Seiryu was smiling down at him, clearly pleased that he was pliantly accepting the assistance, but Kohaku pretended he didn’t notice. He wasn’t sure why, but he didn’t want to start an argument and risk Seiryu pulling away.

“This is your room, Lord Seiryu?! I see. Then...you’re sleeping with your matchmaking partner so you can get to know them better?”

Mashiro fixed Seiryu with a disapproving look. It was an unbelievably rude attitude for a mere human to take against a beastfolk chieftain, but Seiryu didn’t seem to mind. He just nodded with a smile and replied, “That’s the gist of it, I suppose.”

Breakfast time arrived as they conversed, and the two Dragon Clan children who had been standing in front of the door yesterday carried in trays of food. Kohaku was about to make like Seiryu and sit down at the table covered with dishes, but then Mashiro sidled up next to him to whisper into his ear.

“I didn’t know you were so licentious, Lord Kohaku!”

“Licentious?”

“You two aren’t even official mates yet! What if he gets you pregnant?”

“What?!” Mashiro’s words were so unexpected that Kohaku’s voice came out much louder than he’d intended. Seiryu looked up at the commotion, and Kohaku hurriedly lowered his voice so only Mashiro could hear him. “We’re not mates, so he couldn’t possibly get me pregnant!”

I really didn’t give Mashiro the education he needed, Kohaku lamented. He doesn’t even know how children are made.

Though Kohaku had wanted to soothe Mashiro’s ignorant worries, Mashiro’s reply was an equally loud “Huh?!”

“Is something the matter?” Seiryu asked, curiosity piqued as he looked over at the pair once more.

“Nothing!” Mashiro replied, but he immediately turned his attention back to Kohaku. He tugged on Kohaku’s arm to make him lower his face to his level and hissed, “Lord Kohaku, you know how children are made, don’t you?!”

“Of course I do. After two beastfolk become mates, they sleep in the same bed during their heat, which results in pregnancy. Seiryu and I aren’t mates, and I’ve never gotten my heat. There’s no way I could ever get pregnant.”

Mashiro was still a child, so he probably thought that merely sleeping together in the same bed would result in a pregnancy, but there was an entire procedure to follow. Just sleeping in a bed wouldn’t create a baby—a couple had to become mates, enter heat, and then get in bed together. That was the ritual to welcome the next generation.

Despite Kohaku’s earnest and detailed explanation, Mashiro’s face paled, and he screeched, “You’ve got to be kidding! Which dumba—” He paused before continuing in a lower voice, “Ahem, sorry... I mean, who in the world taught you that?!”

Mashiro must have gone quiet after remembering that Seiryu was still in the room, but Seiryu was still watching them with open interest. Kohaku shot Mashiro a warning glare, wordlessly urging him to stop yelling. He’d already imparted to Seiryu the impression that he hadn’t given Mashiro a proper education, so he didn’t want to provide Seiryu with further proof of his failures.

“Shunran did,” Kohaku said.

A few decades ago, Kohaku and Shunran had spent the night drinking together. Shunran had asked Kohaku, “If you’ve never had your heat before, that means you’ve never experienced spermarche either, right?”

“Spermarche?”

Shunran had seemed flabbergasted. “Wait, for real?”

“What’s that? Is that something I need to do?”

“Um, I-I guess so? You need to go through that to have kids and all...”

“You need to experience this spermarche thing to have children? Where do children come from anyway?”

“Huh? I have to start my explanation from there?”

Back then, Kohaku hadn’t known how pregnancy worked. Not that he’d ever imagined he would become a father, but once his mind fixated on a question, he wouldn’t be satisfied until he got an answer.

“Tell me, Shunran. Where do children come from?”

Shunran had fallen silent for a while, with obvious discomfort on his face, but he’d finally caved—Kohaku had kept staring at him, refusing to give up. After chugging the remaining alcohol in his cup, Shunran had said, “You become mates, you enter heat, and then you get in bed together. Then, you get pregnant. Yep, that’s exactly how it works.”

That had made sense to Kohaku. When a pair of lovers became mates, they would perform a ritual meant to report their union to the gods. That ritual had to double as a way to inform the gods that they were ready to bear and raise children. Shunran was knowledgeable, and so Kohaku had thought that anything he said must be the truth.

“Lord Shunran must’ve run away from the question,” Mashiro muttered.

“He what?”

“Ah, nothing. More importantly, Lord Kohaku, just make sure that when you two spend the night in the same bed, limit your activities to simply sleeping next to each other!”

“What else would we be doing?” Kohaku asked.

“I-I can’t say that!” Mashiro flushed a deep crimson as he waved his arms in front of his face.

Curious about this incomprehensible reaction, Kohaku opened his mouth to ask what his problem was, but a voice from behind him piped up first.

“Kohaku, your food will grow cold. Come, eat.”

“Ah, right.”

As much as Kohaku would’ve liked to get to the bottom of all his questions, eating some breakfast was more important. He pressed a hand against his growling tummy and headed over to the table.

Mashiro, following behind, muttered, “Is he gonna be okay?”

You’re the only one here who isn’t okay, Kohaku thought with a mental sigh as he sat down across from Seiryu.

Seiryu stared right into Kohaku’s eyes. “You two were having such a good time chatting away over there. Why didn’t you invite me to join you?”

“We weren’t talking about anything interesting,” Kohaku replied.

“Is that so?”

“Anyway, I thought you’d be doing important things today.”

Are you sure you should be loafing around here? Kohaku had meant to imply that and cut their conversation short, but Seiryu merely ate a spoonful of his morning congee and nodded with a satisfied smile. He then turned that same smile to Kohaku.

“I have some official duties I must attend to this morning. Mashiro will start his etiquette lessons today, so you can come with me if you’re worried about getting bored.”

“I’m not.”

“Oh? How unfortunate, but I suppose I can’t force you to accompany me. Feel free to come find me if you wish to make any requests!”

“I don’t often get the chance to sit around relaxing, so I’ll just do that all day.” Kohaku scoffed, hoping that Seiryu would get the hint and leave him alone. He finally started eating his breakfast, but he froze after one taste of the congee.

What in the world did they put in this?It’sdelicious. Kohaku enjoyed food with bold seasoning, mostly because his cooking skills only extended to stewing or pan-frying his ingredients, so he usually covered up the lack of technique with random, powerful herbs or spices. He usually didn’t like congee very much due to its bland taste, but despite its unassuming appearance, this bowl was bursting with flavor.

“Do you like it?” Seiryu asked.

“I...don’t hate it.”

Seiryu chuckled. “I’m glad to hear that.”

Kohaku’s tone had been on the ruder side, but the way he couldn’t stop spooning even more of the congee into his mouth was an obvious answer to Seiryu’s question. Where was this rich flavor coming from? It tasted like the sea, even though it looked like any ordinary bowl of congee.

“If you stay here,” Seiryu said, “you can eat this whenever you like.”

Where did that come from?Is Seiryu bragging about how he can enjoy this congee whenever he likes? Kohaku glared up at Seiryu, who merely shrugged with a wry smile.

“I guess I have to remain patient... I’ll be back around noon, so be a good boy and wait for me.”

Now that he’d finished with his meal, Seiryu pushed himself to his feet and pressed a kiss against Kohaku’s brow. Between this and the way he was speaking to Kohaku, it was like he thought Kohaku was a child. Still, the sensation and sound of Seiryu’s lips against his skin came as such a surprise that Kohaku nearly choked on the piece of fruit he’d been chewing.

“Ah, don’t eat so quickly!” Seiryu exclaimed.

Kohaku spluttered for a moment before he finally swallowed the offending fruit. “Wh-What did you just do?!” he yelled.

Seiryu tilted his head to the side. “It was just a morning greeting.”

“A morning greeting?!”

“Yep. Apparently, in some distant lands, that’s a normal way to start the day.”

“It is?”

Was a kiss really considered a casual method of communication? Kohaku couldn’t understand it, but then again, he knew nothing about the world outside of the White Tiger Clan. Seiryu was gazing at him like he didn’t think the kiss was a big deal, which made Kohaku feel like his overreaction was unjustified.

He quickly arranged his expression into a more neutral one. “Humph. Then hurry up and go.” He shooed Seiryu away with his hand. But then, he realized something—Kohaku stood up as well and walked over to Seiryu until he was standing right in front of him.

“Kohaku?”

Seiryu must have changed out of his nightclothes in a rush, because the back of his collar was a little twisted. Kohaku wordlessly fixed it for him. When he was done with his work, he nodded with a happy “Good.” But then, he suddenly realized the gravity of his actions.

Oh no! He was so used to helping Mashiro get ready that he hadn’t thought it strange to reach out to Seiryu and help him with his clothes. It was too late now, though—it would be even more unnatural for him to crumple Seiryu’s collar.

“Th-The chieftain of the Dragon Clan walking around in messy clothes would make for a laughingstock!” Kohaku hurriedly said.

Seiryu still looked shocked, but he immediately recovered and gave Kohaku a sweet smile. “Thank you, Kohaku.”

“I-I didn’t do anything worth thanking!” He actively started to herd Seiryu toward the door, but right before he could push Seiryu out of the room, the chieftain stopped. He turned back around and gazed down at Kohaku.

“I’m off.”

“Take care,” Kohaku replied on reflex. Yet again, he regretted his words after they were out of his mouth. Why should he have to worry about Seiryu? He gritted his teeth as he saw the man off, and the twins who entered after him looked perplexed when they noticed Kohaku’s face.

“Did something happen to the chieftain?” one asked.

“Like what?” Kohaku replied.

For a second, the twins looked like they wanted to say something, but they quickly smoothed out their expressions and bowed. “Oh, nothing. We’re here to collect Lord Mashiro.”

“Wow, you guys came to fetch me?! Thank you so much!” Mashiro hurried over to them. He must have made fast friends with the twins, as he kept peppering them with questions (like asking whether they would attend his lessons as well) or telling them that they could just call him by his name. Right before he left, he turned to look at Kohaku and said, “Be a good boy until I get back!” And then, he was gone in a whirlwind of chaotic energy.

Between Mashiro and Seiryu, just what kind of person did they think Kohaku was?

***

Kohaku was idling away the time in Seiryu’s room when Shunran dropped by for a visit. He had no idea how his friend had known he was here. He’d let Shunran in so they could chat while waiting for Seiryu to return, but it took mere seconds for Kohaku to regret his decision.

“So, how’s newlywed life treating you?”

“Go home.”

Shunran laughed, unaffected by Kohaku’s irritated response. “I was just joking! Don’t get all huffy with me.” Without asking for permission, he sat in a chair and said in his usual carefree tone, “Come on! Have a seat. Make yourself at home.”

Shunran was acting as if this were his house. Kohaku furrowed his brow and then lowered himself into a seat with a purposeful thud, making his bad mood quite clear.

Once again, Shunran paid no mind to Kohaku’s attitude—he even urged Kohaku to show some hospitality by saying, “Don’t you think you should serve your guest some tea?”

“Why did you even come here?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I came here to laugh at you.”

“Go home.”

“I’m just joking! Lord Seiryu summoned me. He said that you were probably bored out of your mind, so he asked me to keep you company for a bit.”

Kohaku’s mouth flattened into a thin line. “So you’re here on his orders?” In truth, he hadn’t known what to do with his free time, but he didn’t like the idea of Seiryu being considerate of him.

“What a nice aroma,” Shunran murmured as the breeze blew in the fragrant scent of the osmanthus trees in the garden. “To be honest, I was pretty surprised. I didn’t expect Lord Seiryu to request something like this from me.”

Did he mean that he didn’t think Seiryu would be the type to care about Kohaku’s comfort? Shunran didn’t know about their past connection, which had probably exacerbated the misunderstanding. After racking his brain for what he could possibly say to Shunran, Kohaku stayed quiet in the end. There was no need for him to reveal his childhood friendship with Seiryu.

Kohaku’s hair rippled as the breeze flowed in through the open window, and Shunran gently threaded his fingers through the strands. “You’ve finally learned to doll yourself up.”

“Don’t be so dramatic. I merely combed it.”

“I’m just glad that you’ve started to take care of yourself.”

No, it’s because he told me to. But Kohaku bit his tongue before he could say that. He didn’t want to explain to Shunran what his relationship with Seiryu was like. He wasn’t sure he could explain it, even if he wanted to. Unable to find the words to continue the conversation, he just silently prepared their drinks.

After watching Kohaku for a bit, Shunran raised his voice in surprise. “Hey, where did you learn to brew tea so meticulously?”

Not wanting to reveal that Seiryu had taught him, Kohaku looked away and said, “It’s not a big deal. I could always do this, but I just didn’t want to.” He placed a cup of tea in front of Shunran, who immediately picked it up and took a sip.

“Ah, it’s delicious,” he said with a satisfied smile. “It tastes exactly like how Lord Seiryu brews it.”

Kohaku sucked in a sharp breath. The smug grin on Shunran’s face was infuriating. If he’d noticed the truth behind Kohaku’s brewing skills, why had he even bothered asking about it?!

“I was a little worried about you before I came here,” Shunran continued, “but seeing you has lifted a weight from my shoulders.”

“It has?”

“This is a nice, relaxing place, and your skin is looking better than ever. You seem like a whole different person.”

“That’s just because I had to look good for the matchmaking session, so—”

“Oh, don’t get so tied up in the details.” Shunran thought for a moment before he said, “All right, I’ve made up my mind. I’ll trust him.”

“Him?”

Instead of a verbal response, Shunran gave Kohaku an unreadable smile. After taking another sip of tea, he said, “By the way, I’d like to ask you something.”

“What is it?”

“Did you tell Lord Seiryu about the earring I gave you?”

“Yeah, I did. What about it? Did you want me to keep it a secret?” If Kohaku remembered correctly, Shunran had mentioned that the gem in the earring was a fairly rare one. Was it something that others shouldn’t know about?

“Let me guess. You told him during the banquet the other day?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

For some reason, Shunran huffed out a laugh at Kohaku’s reply. “I see. That solves the mystery. Well, what do you know? He has a cute side to him after all.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t worry about it. I just uncovered the answer to an unexplained phenomenon.” Kohaku had no idea what Shunran was alluding to, but his friend merely drank his tea, unbothered by Kohaku’s confusion, before he continued, “There’s something else I’d like to ask you.”

“What?”

Normally, Kohaku was the one peppering the knowledgeable Shunran with questions, so it felt odd to be on the receiving end. He couldn’t exactly tell Shunran to stop, since he was usually the one causing trouble for his friend, but he certainly didn’t expect the next question out of Shunran’s mouth.

“Where did you get that collar?”

“Why...are you suddenly asking me that?” Though Kohaku had become tongue-tied for a second, his expression remained neutral. He thought so, anyway. He hadn’t expected Shunran to take an interest in his collar, especially after all this time. From an outsider’s perspective, the collar looked like any ordinary accessory.

“It just looks so lovely. I’d like to buy one for myself, if possible.”

As imperceptibly as he could, Kohaku breathed a sigh of relief. “I found it. I have no idea where you can get one.”

Shunran was a true fool for wanting something like this. The moment it locked around your neck, it became impossible to remove. It was a cursed chain that bound its wearer to their master, forcing them to swear a vow of loyalty.

“Can you take it off for me?” Shunran asked. “I’d like to get a closer look at it.”

“I refuse,” Kohaku replied. If he could have removed it, he would’ve done so ages ago. Touching it had no effect, but if Kohaku exerted any strength or used any of his power against it, the troublesome collar would reflect it right back at him.

“Lord Seiryu’s worries were right on the mark, huh?” Shunran muttered, voice so low that not even Kohaku’s sharp ears could pick up the words.

“Did you say something?”

“I was just thinking that I’ve become complacent in these peaceful times. I should’ve been better about taking your personality into consideration.”

“What are you talking about?”

But Shunran didn’t answer Kohaku’s question. He quickly jumped to his feet without warning and announced that he would be leaving.

Had Kohaku offended him somehow? He had no idea what could have prompted such a sudden change in Shunran’s attitude. Shunran was looking at Kohaku with a deadly serious expression—one Kohaku had never seen on him before.

“Kohaku, just promise me this: Don’t go disappearing on your own.”

“Where would I even go?”

“I regard you as one of my closest friends. Should anything happen to you, promise that you’ll come and talk to me about it. I’ll help you out, no matter who I end up antagonizing with that decision. That’s how much I like you.”

“What are you—?”

But before Kohaku could finish speaking, the cup next to Shunran shattered. It took Kohaku by surprise, as the cup hadn’t looked cracked or defective. Meanwhile, Shunran’s only reaction was a wry smile.

“Good grief. He’s a lot more intense than I thought. Doesn’t he know that it’s rude to eavesdrop?”

“Shunran?”

“It’s time for me to go. For real this time.” Shunran offered one last grin before he left Seiryu’s room.

“So in the end, what did he want to say?”

No one was left in the room to answer Kohaku’s question.

***

Several days had passed since Kohaku had come to live in the Dragon Clan village. In the beginning, he had hated it, but now, he was used to Seiryu’s presence. Seiryu had finished all his work in the morning, so he was spending his afternoon in their room. As he relaxed with a book, he let Kohaku use his lap as a pillow, which he had once offered if Kohaku “was feeling sleepy.”

At first, Kohaku had been furious, thinking that this was some new joke of Seiryu’s. But Seiryu had dodged every accusation Kohaku had flung his way until, by the time he’d realized it, Seiryu had somehow convinced him to rest his head on his knee. And once Kohaku had learned how comfortable this position was, it’d become impossible to reject. The sensation of Seiryu gently patting his head when he closed his eyes was also more than acceptable.

Kohaku had planned on getting up if Seiryu had made fun of him even once, but Seiryu always acted like this was no big deal. He would use one hand to stroke Kohaku’s hair while deftly using his other hand to flip through his books. At some point, it had become normal for Kohaku to feel Seiryu’s warmth so close to him. Sometimes, Kohaku even let Seiryu rest his head on his lap.

At night, Seiryu would use Kohaku as his body pillow. In the morning, they would exchange the greeting that was apparently customary in some faraway land, and Kohaku would see Seiryu off when the chieftain left to start his day’s work. Then, Kohaku would spend the rest of the day relaxing in the room, going for walks, or reading books.

Seiryu’s room contained many books, and going through them was a lot of fun for Kohaku. Until now, his days had been filled with exterminating demons and then sleeping like the dead after he finally dragged himself back home. That was all he’d ever known. He’d never had the time to proactively pick up any new skills or knowledge, nor the time to give his body the proper rest it craved.

Books were amazing and filled to the brim with things Kohaku had never known about. They could tell him everything, such as information on demons, the basics of fighting, rules of etiquette, and cooking techniques. Kohaku was such an avid reader that just yesterday, Seiryu had scolded him: “I’m limiting you to five books per day. You’ll damage your eyes otherwise.”

Since everything belonged to Seiryu, Kohaku couldn’t exactly complain to him, so he had to put up with the order. But even now, he couldn’t stop staring at the shelves, itching to devour a new book.

Seiryu’s keen eye picked up on Kohaku’s restless energy. “You can’t, remember? You’re too hard on yourself. Breaks are important, no matter the activity. Those books won’t run away, so there’s no need to blitz through them all.” He pinched Kohaku’s cheek. All the dishes served here were exactly to Kohaku’s taste, and he felt like his face had gotten rounder in only a few days.

“There’s a limit to how many books one can get through in a month, you know? I’d like to read as many as I can.”

“You can read them even after the matchmaking ends. You’re free to enter our village whenever you please.”

There’s no way in hell I’ll be coming back here. Kohaku almost blurted out his thoughts, but Seiryu’s comforting hand on his head felt so good that he swallowed the words. There was no need for him to worsen his relationship with Seiryu on purpose. But the longer he stayed here, the more he wanted to read the books before him.

All right, then! He jumped to his feet.

“Kohaku?”

“I’m going for a walk.”

“I’m almost done with this, so could you wait for a bit?”

“Just take your time. I’ll go for a jog while I’m at it.”

“All right... Be careful, and come back right after you’re done.”

“I know.”

Those of the Dragon Clan were fast in flight, but not so much on land. Kohaku couldn’t transform into a white tiger, but even he could outrun the dragons. After stretching to work out the kinks in his body, which had lost a bit of muscle after so much time spent lazing about, Kohaku left Seiryu’s room. The weather was nice again today. In all his time in the village, he’d only ever seen blue, cloudless skies.

“It’s way too peaceful here,” he muttered to himself.

For the first time in his life, he could spend his time relaxing. His heart was so calm that it even took him aback. He’d always been so tense, snapping at Seiryu as if trying to intimidate him. But the second his everyday life settled down, it was like all the prickly spines he’d once used to protect himself had fallen away.

One’s insecurity and unease deeply affected their natural emotional state. It was a painful lesson to learn.

“The thought of becoming accustomed to life here is a scary one.”

Eventually, he would have to return to that place. The sight of a dilapidated manor rose in his mind’s eye. He was starting to dislike the notion of returning to the manor he’d thought of as his only home in this world. His time in this village was poisoning him. He would have preferred it if he’d never known kindness and comfort.

“Nah, I should stop thinking about it.”

Kohaku clapped his hands against his cheeks before he started running through the forest behind the spacious village. The air was fresh thanks to all the trees, and the moisture carried on the wind felt good against his skin. The more he ran, the more he felt the odd sensation of his body becoming lighter. This was likely the effect of how clean the air was here.

Many locations were rumored to have received the blessing of the gods, and this forest was one of them. Kohaku had never expected to find a consecrated area within the village. Spending time in blessed territory could empower one’s magic. Kohaku had heard that, under normal circumstances, all beastfolk had to take turns using them, but this was a special location that only those of the Dragon Clan had access to.

After jogging for a while, he returned to the entrance of the forest. He’d felt refreshed after some exercise, but when he saw who was waiting for him, he couldn’t suppress an “Ugh.”

“What do you think you’re doing?” the person asked. “You’ve even breached this forest.”

It was Karin. He was wearing a pale teal shenyi, which he must’ve had tailored using the same fabric as the one Seiryu wore. Wearing matching robes like this, they would look like mates. The headwear perched atop his long hair had dragons engraved into the metal, and the design was so elaborate that Kohaku couldn’t tear his eyes away.

Noticing what he was looking at, Karin proudly said, “Oh, this?” and tilted his head so Kohaku could get a better look. “The Dragon Clan gifted it to me. They said that they’d had it made for the person who was most suitable as Lord Seiryu’s mate.”

“I thought your matchmaking fell through?”

It was an honest question, but Karin’s face grew enraged, and he pointed at Kohaku. “Don’t get the wrong idea!”

“About what?”

“You’re only here because Lord Seiryu feels bad for you. I’m the one who’ll become his mate.”

“Oh? Are you allowed to attempt matchmaking more than once?”

This was yet another honest question on Kohaku’s end, and he didn’t have any ulterior motives behind asking it. But it seriously ticked Karin off. He growled, face beet red, and he spat, “I wish you’d go die already!” before running off.

Watching him go, Kohaku murmured, “‘I wish you’d go die already,’ huh?” As far as insults went, it was pretty childish. Was that Seiryu’s type? The moment that thought crossed Kohaku’s mind, he felt a flashing pain in his chest. “Hmm? Was that heartburn?”

All the food here was so good that he might have been overeating. After deciding that he would cut back tonight, Kohaku walked off. Distracted by thoughts of dinner, he never noticed that Karin, whom he’d seen sprint away, was still watching from afar.

“Know your place! You’ll get what’s coming to you...”

***

Something was off the next day—Seiryu began acting strangely the moment they woke up.

“My apologies, but I won’t be able to return for a while,” he murmured as soon as he opened his eyes. He then hurried out of the room without having breakfast with Kohaku.

He normally kisses me on the forehead before he leaves, Kohaku thought before banishing the notion from his mind. Not that he wanted Seiryu to do that. It just wasn’t their normal routine, so he was curious about what had prompted the change.

Telling himself that, Kohaku took advantage of Seiryu’s absence to read his books. It was fun at first, but after a few hours, he started feeling antsy. That was when he realized something: This was the longest time he’d spent apart from Seiryu since coming to this village.

“Is he busy with work?” he wondered.

He didn’t want Seiryu to come back. Of course not. But if the chieftain had a lot of work to get through, then Kohaku wouldn’t object to lending him a hand. Though he didn’t think he would be of much use, there was surely something he could do. Despite believing that, when Kohaku recalled what their relationship had been like before the matchmaking, he didn’t think he could offer his aid to Seiryu.

Impatient for Mashiro to finish his lessons and return, Kohaku paced around until he finally couldn’t stand it anymore and left.

All right. I’ll act like everything is normal, approach Seiryu, and talk to him all casual-like. However, when he went to the room where Seiryu always worked, he found it empty.

“Where did he go?”

Seiryu had told Kohaku to drop by whenever he felt bored. He wondered what he should do now that Seiryu wasn’t where he’d expected him. But then, he saw a member of the Dragon Clan walking toward him from the opposite end of the outside corridor.

It didn’t take long for him to notice Kohaku. After an elegant bow, he asked, “Is something the matter?”

“Ah, it’s nothing...” Kohaku replied, averting his gaze. He had been taken off guard since he hadn’t expected anyone to talk to him.

Since he’d come here, no one from the Dragon Clan other than the twins had spoken to him. Though they greeted him with their eyes or gestures, they would walk off without another word. Did they think he was unsuitable as a potential mate for a dragon? Well, that was a given. So he was more surprised than anything that one would speak to him.

“The children are having classes right now,” the Dragon Clan attendant continued. When Kohaku blinked in confusion, he continued, “I doubt the chieftain will be angry at them.”

“Angry?” Kohaku echoed, tilting his head to the side.

The man before him cleared his throat and smoothed out his expression before asking, “Are you looking for the chieftain?”

“No, that’s not what I was... I just didn’t see him in his office when I passed it,” Kohaku stammered, unsure of how he should conduct himself. If the attendant had openly displayed contempt for him, he could’ve acted however he pleased. But he was so unfamiliar with this cordiality that it left him wrong-footed.

“You came to find him? Ah, how unfortunate! If only the chieftain were here, he would be thrilled to bits. However, it will probably take the chieftain some time before he can reemerge.”

“Reemerge? Where is he now?”

“Would you really like to know?”

The man’s eyes seemed to spark with something, and Kohaku took a step back. “I-It’s not that I’m curious about him or anything!”

“The chieftain will remain in the cave until it passes,” the man easily revealed, ignoring Kohaku’s reflexive retort.

“The cave?”

“Yes, that’s right. The chieftain started his rut today.”

“His rut...”

Kohaku didn’t know anything about heats or ruts, as he’d never experienced them before. This was also his first time learning that a person had to hide away during one.

Now that he thought about it though, it only made sense; Seiryu could transform, so of course he would enter his rut. Considering how many times he’d had matchmaking sessions, it was strange that no one had ever brought it up before. Maybe it was out of consideration for Kohaku, who couldn’t get his heat.

“How long will it last?” Kohaku asked.

“Well, there’s no consistency or pattern, so I can’t give you an estimate.”

“Is that so?”

“It’s not the usual time for his rut. Not even our great chieftain has full control over his emotions, so I’m guessing that they threw off his cycle.”

“I see.” Kohaku knew nothing about ruts or heat cycles, but he didn’t want to admit that, so he pretended like he did.

“Rather than having him hide in his cave every time he has his rut, we would prefer that he get it out of his system.”

“That makes sense.”

“Then, you understand?!”

“Yeah.” Kohaku could sympathize with the Dragon Clan wanting Seiryu to get out of the cave as soon as possible. He wasn’t sure how he could “get it out of his system,” but if there was a way to end the rut faster, then why didn’t they just do something about it? That was one aspect he couldn’t quite understand.

“Ah, thank the heavens! We are in your debt! There’s no time to waste! I’ll take you to the chieftain!”

“Huh?”

“Please make sure you personally tell him what you said to me! Lord Seiryu will be over the moon!”

“Uh, really?” Why did Kohaku need to be the one to tell Seiryu anything, and why would that make Seiryu happy? He was completely lost. But when he saw the man’s desperate expression as he held Kohaku’s hand in a tight grip, he impulsively gave an understanding nod, pretending that he was totally keeping up with the situation.

“Now that things are settled, let’s go!” the man exclaimed as he walked off.

Kohaku found it impossible to turn him down in the face of such enthusiasm. Well, whatever. I’ll go to Seiryu and tell him to deal with his rut. I’m a guest in the village right now, so I don’t mind helping if the task is this simple. After making up his mind, Kohaku followed the man into the forest.

They walked together for a few minutes, and when the cave came into view, the man said, “Lord Seiryu is inside. We can’t draw any closer, so Lord Kohaku, we leave him in your care.”

“Huh?” What do you mean you can’t get any closer? But Kohaku didn’t even have the time to open his mouth before the man turned away and hurried off. Alone in front of the cave, Kohaku hesitated before he refocused. I just have to tell him to come out, and once I finish that, I can go back. “All right.”

Motivated, Kohaku headed toward the cave, but the moment he tried to enter, a growling voice stopped him.

“What are you doing here?” The voice belonged to Seiryu, but he sounded nothing like he usually did. He groaned out the words in a low rumble, as if he were angry or in pain.

“A member of the Dragon Clan asked me to pass along a message.”

From within the cave came the sound of someone clicking their tongue, but surely Kohaku was just hearing things. He’d never seen Seiryu act in such a way before. Granted, he couldn’t see Seiryu right now either, but Seiryu’s irritation was evident, even from his voice.

“They didn’t have to do that.”

A horrible noise, like a beast’s snarling, echoed from the mouth of the cave. If Kohaku and Seiryu could converse like this, then Seiryu was still in human form, but his presence felt so different from normal that it left Kohaku feeling bewildered.

Remembering what he came here for, he opened his mouth and said, “Hurry up and get it out of your system.”

“What did you say?”

“I said to get it out of your system. The other people in the Dragon Clan want you to get back to normal too.”

“Kohaku... Do you have any idea what you’re saying right now?”

Of course not. But Kohaku didn’t want to admit that. “If you just let it out, then your rut will end in no time, right? Instead of cooping yourself up in that cave, why don’t you—”

“There’s no need for that. Get out of here. Now.”

Seiryu had never taken on such a frigid tone when speaking to Kohaku. It felt like someone had punched him in the chest, and Kohaku subconsciously gripped the front of his shirt.

“Did you have to say it like that? I just want you to come out as quickly as—”

“Kohaku. I’m experiencing my rut right now.”

“Yeah, I heard. But so what? Why do you—”

Why do you need to stay in that cave? If there’s something you can do that will enable you to leave, then use that method. And then, things can go back to the way they were until yesterday. That was as far as Kohaku was thinking.

But Seiryu interrupted him before he could finish. “I’m begging you. Please leave this place.”

“Are you...trying to say that my presence is bothering you?” Seiryu had invited Kohaku to drop by whenever he wanted, yet he was also the one trying to chase Kohaku away now. He always did whatever he wanted. This was how things always were between them, with Kohaku forced to go along with Seiryu’s whims.

“I’m truly sorry, but I’m not able to control myself at the moment.”

“So what?”

“Kohaku.” Seiryu’s voice was deeper, more threatening, than it had ever been. “I can’t have you staying around me right now.”

Kohaku gritted his teeth when he heard Seiryu say that. See? You’re always like this. Getting my hopes up and then turning on me without a second thought. “Is that so? Well, sorry about coming here when I’m nothing more than useless deadweight.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about. I just don’t want you to go through any pain, so that’s why I need you to leave immediately.”

What the hell? Irritated, Kohaku asked, “Then, do you have anyone you want me to send over here in my place?”

Maybe Seiryu couldn’t tell Kohaku his secrets, but he could reveal them to another dragon. The question had been Kohaku’s last act of kindness.

Seiryu’s response remained blunt. “Just leave me alone. Don’t let anyone approach this cave.”

All of Kohaku’s attempts at negotiating had fallen on deaf ears. “Fine! Then do whatever you want!”

Kohaku didn’t understand how Seiryu could say that. After all, Seiryu was usually the one getting all up in Kohaku’s business, even when Kohaku protested his behavior. Regardless, the whole encounter had pissed him off to no end. Kohaku stomped away from the cave, but even after returning to his room, he couldn’t settle down. He should’ve been mad that Seiryu was acting this way toward him, but his anger was slowly replaced by anxiety.

What was a rut anyway? Was it really that uncomfortable?

Intrigued, Kohaku approached the bookshelf. He combed through it at random before finding a book that seemed to explain beastfolk’s ruts and heats in detail. Grabbing it off the shelf, Kohaku lay down on the bed and read through it with keen interest. By the time he finished, he could hardly believe what he had just learned.

“What the hell?!” So this is what heats and ruts are?!

Heats and ruts were preparation for having children. Once they were complete and a beastfolk found a mate, they would sleep together in the same bed, and the gods would bless them with a child. That was what Kohaku had thought they were.

But after reading the book’s contents, he felt like his whole world had turned upside down. It said that beastfolk had to connect their bodies to create a child. Though it didn’t go into any detail, it mentioned that the act was deeply pleasurable for both parties, and the mental image was so confusing that Kohaku could only sit there, utterly baffled. The book said that mates would hug each other while naked. Unbelievable.

But thanks to the book, Kohaku now understood why Seiryu had pushed him away. When a beastfolk went through their rut, they became desperate for this bodily connection. The book also mentioned the possibility that a young beastfolk who didn’t have a mate might assault the first person they saw, regardless of who that person was. Since “assault” was the word used, the act could end up causing injury to the victim. That was why Seiryu had chosen to hide away in that cave.

Kohaku felt a little guilty. Just a little, though. Seiryu must have warned Kohaku away out of worry. Kohaku had done something unnecessary, and yet he’d been the one to lose his temper and stomp off. He thought about what he should do. If Seiryu was going through his rut, then Kohaku figured that he shouldn’t draw any closer. Seiryu had also told him not to. Still, that was the first time Seiryu had ever treated Kohaku so coldly, and he couldn’t stop thinking about it.

After yelling “Ah, jeez!” and angrily running his hands through his hair, Kohaku returned to Seiryu. He would keep his distance and apologize from afar. Kohaku was undoubtedly in the wrong this time. He figured he should at least say he was sorry.

But when he saw Seiryu’s cave in the distance, he stopped.

Karin.

There he was, holding some sort of package in his hands. After looking around, Karin slipped into the cave.

“Oh, so that’s how it is.” Kohaku had been under the impression that Seiryu had shooed Kohaku away because he didn’t want to hurt or attack him. But in reality, he had simply been waiting for the person he truly wanted as his mate. “I knew it. It was like that from the beginning.”

The moment Kohaku let his guard down and tried to trust others, this always happened. He’d been right—the only person he could believe in was himself. He was just glad that he had figured out Seiryu’s true intentions before fully opening himself up to him.

“Ridiculous.” Kohaku laughed to himself, but his voice was shaking pathetically.

Why am I so shocked anyway? This isn’t anything new, so stop thinking about it. Stop getting hurt by it. I simply need to stamp out all emotions in my heart and keep on living. Repeating those words to himself, he turned and was about to walk off.

Suddenly, the earth started to rumble. He hurriedly threw himself onto the ground.

What was happening? Had there been a rockslide or something on a nearby mountain? Kohaku peered around but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

At that moment, his sharp ears picked up Seiryu growling from within the cave. The next second, the earth shook again.

For an instant, Kohaku froze, wondering if Seiryu and Karin were snuggling up to each other in the nude at this moment, but he quickly made up his mind and rushed over to the cave. If they were naked together, he would simply do an about-face and leave.

With that thought, he hurried inside the cave. What greeted him was the sight of Seiryu in his draconic form, thrashing about in a rage.

“Hey, what happened?!” Kohaku yelled, sprinting over to Karin, who was sitting on the ground and quaking in fear near Seiryu’s claws.

“I didn’t do anything!” Karin wailed.

“Then why is he freaking out?!”

“I don’t know!”

The entire time they were having their heated exchange, Seiryu’s lashing tail was striking the walls, sending stalactites crashing down. He roared, and the sound echoed off the walls of the cave—it was so loud that Kohaku had to slap his hands over his ears.

“Lord Seiryu!” Karin cried.

Seiryu ignored him and slammed his tail against the ground. The impact left behind a crack, impressing upon Kohaku the utter strength of a dragon. Seiryu had completely lost control—if he didn’t stop, he was going to bring down the entire cave.

“Chieftain!”

Members of the Dragon Clan quickly gathered around Kohaku and Karin; they must have heard the commotion from outside. Among the crowd were the twins and Mashiro, who rushed up to Kohaku and demanded to know what had happened. Kohaku wanted to know the same thing. What had happened? Kohaku had no clue, but he knew that he couldn’t let this continue for much longer.

“The village is going to be destroyed! Chieftain, please calm down! What happened?! Chieftain!”

But Seiryu didn’t respond to the pleas of his clansmen. His rage only grew more intense. Every time he whipped his tail, he shook the entire cave and sent down a rain of rocks.

“No! He’s completely lost control of himself! How could this have happened?!”

“Evacuate the women and children! Oh, what should we do?!”

The Dragon Clan members were at a complete loss. They could only hover around Seiryu and beg him to stop.

“Chieftain, please calm down!”

But the more the Dragon Clan members tried to speak to him, the more enraged Seiryu became. He struck the ground with his tail and tensed, looking for all the world like he was about to rush out of the cave. Kohaku was just as baffled as the rest of them, but he couldn’t just sit around and watch things devolve any further.

Before he’d even realized what he was doing, he ran in front of Seiryu and yelled, “Hey!”

Seiryu froze when he heard Kohaku’s voice. Sparks of magic continued to dance over his draconic body, as if he were trying to warn others away.

Ignoring this, Kohaku climbed on top of Seiryu’s snout and smacked his face, right between his brows. “Enough!” The onlookers were shouting things, but Kohaku ignored them and continued glaring into Seiryu’s eyes. “You’re causing everyone trouble with your rampage! If something pissed you off, just use your words!”

Though he didn’t know the details, he understood that rage had caused this loss of control. The fury Kohaku could sense seething in the cave’s air told him as much. Seeing one of Seiryu’s whiskers floating nearby, Kohaku grabbed it and wielded it like a whip, slapping it against Seiryu’s head.

“He grabbed a whisker!”

“H-How rude!”

The members of the Dragon Clan were still yelling behind him, but Kohaku ignored them. Right now, he was focused on telling Seiryu off. The dragon was much too old to be throwing tantrums like this.

“Your body is so big right now that even rolling around will destroy the village! I’ve never heard of a chieftain wrecking their own home! Can the chieftain of the Dragon Clan really afford to be this pathetic?! Of course he can’t!”

He hit the space between Seiryu’s brows with the whisker one last time. Having returned to his senses somewhat, Seiryu gave Kohaku a look that seemed to whine, But...

“No buts!” Kohaku snapped. “No matter the reason, only a child damages their surroundings when they lose their temper! When did you turn back into a kid?! You’re the chieftain, so why are you causing trouble to the people you’re supposed to protect?!”

What a handful. Kohaku didn’t know what could have ticked Seiryu off this much, but he should’ve used his words rather than jumping straight to violence.

“If you understand what you’ve done, then return to human form and apologize to everyone.”

Seiryu had been listening to Kohaku’s lecture, but at Kohaku’s words, he squeezed his eyes shut in rejection.

“Hey!” Kohaku was about to whip Seiryu with his own whisker again, but before he could do so, Seiryu lowered his head. When Kohaku’s feet touched the ground, Seiryu grabbed his clothes with his mouth, and in one swift motion, curled his body up and placed Kohaku right in the center of the spiral.

“What’s wrong with you?!” Kohaku exclaimed. He managed to crawl back up to the surface and poke his head out of Seiryu’s coiled body, only for Seiryu to make a sad crooning noise and rub his scaly cheek against Kohaku.

“Lord Seiryu, please undo your transformation, and let’s talk things out!” the Dragon Clan members begged.

Seiryu looked away like a pouting child before rubbing his face against Kohaku again.

“Well... In any case, he’s calmed down, so let’s give him some time,” Kohaku said. He tried to jump down, but Seiryu once again grabbed Kohaku’s clothes with his mouth and returned him to the curl of his body. “Hey, enough already. I’m not playing with you!” Every time Kohaku tried to get away, Seiryu repeated the same action. He was so persistent that Kohaku ended up throwing in the towel. “Okay, fine! I’ll stay with you until you’re satisfied, so let me down!”

And that was how Kohaku ended up having to spend time with Seiryu in the cave, just the two of them.

***

After everyone left, Kohaku wrapped himself up in the blanket that Mashiro had handed to him. He then peered up at Seiryu. “You still can’t turn back?”

Seiryu’s response was a despondent rumble.

It was only after they were the last two left in the cave that Kohaku remembered—Seiryu was going through his rut. That was probably why he couldn’t contain his urge for physical contact, and for a while now, he had been rubbing his snout against Kohaku’s cheek and making sad, quiet noises.

A thought kept flipping over and over in Kohaku’s head: Mating with a Dragon Clan member didn’t mean connecting with a dragon’s body, right? He couldn’t envision what “connecting bodies” meant, but when there was such an obvious size difference between a human and a dragon, even pressing up against each other carried the risk of death.

So, without thinking, Kohaku said, “You can’t possibly be trying to ride out your rut in that form. Do you want to crush me? If you insist on getting in my personal space, then revert to your normal body.”

To his surprise, Seiryu tilted his head to the side and instantly returned to a humanoid shape without any fuss.

“What the hell?!” Kohaku exclaimed. “You could always turn back? Then why are you bothering to sleep— Hey, what’s wrong with you?”

Seiryu was staring right at Kohaku. He clearly hadn’t regained full control over his faculties. Much like he had been doing as a dragon, he rubbed his cheek against Kohaku’s and then pressed him down onto the ground. His movements reminded Kohaku of a child who had grown attached to someone, so he remained limp, letting Seiryu do as he pleased.

But then, Seiryu dragged his rough tongue along Kohaku’s cheek and placed a hand on Kohaku’s waist sash.

“What are you doing?” Kohaku asked.

Seiryu pulled at one end of the waist sash, untying it, and Kohaku’s shenyi fell open. Seiryu brushed his chilly hand against Kohaku’s bare chest and made a soft rumbling noise.

Kohaku glanced down at himself and realized why Seiryu was reacting this way. “Oh, this? It’s not a serious injury; it’ll heal in no time.”

Seiryu had been staring at the wound Kohaku’s father had left on him before coming to the Dragon Clan’s village. Thanks to the clean air, he was recovering faster than normal. The scab was already in the final stages of healing. Seiryu narrowed his eyes before he suddenly leaned down and dragged his tongue across it.

“What do you think you’re doing? Who in their right mind licks an—” Kohaku cut himself off. He noticed that with every pass of Seiryu’s tongue, the wound was closing, bit by bit. “You...can do that?”

Kohaku didn’t know the details of Seiryu’s powers. Granted, that went for all beastfolk. Though the relations between the various clans were a lot friendlier now, no one knew when things would change for the worse. Many clans treated their magic and abilities as confidential information.

Without answering, Seiryu continued to lap passionately at Kohaku’s injury. At first, he focused his efforts on the middle of Kohaku’s chest, but he slowly migrated leftward. At one point, he accidentally brushed his tongue against a part of Kohaku’s chest that made him suck in a breath.

All this time, Kohaku had thought of those parts of himself as nothing more than physical accessories. He’d never touched them before—they’d been things that simply existed on him. But as soon as Seiryu rasped his tongue over Kohaku’s nipple, the stimulation sent a strange, itchy feeling rippling through his body.

Kohaku gasped. “W-Wait, why are you licking there?”

Seiryu was relentless—he lapped at that spot with loud, wet flicks of his tongue. Kohaku couldn’t understand his body’s strange response to this unfamiliar sensation, and he rubbed his thighs together. The thing between his legs hurt. This has never happened before. Panicking, Kohaku tried to push Seiryu away and slide out from under him, but at some point, Seiryu had straddled him. There was no escape.

“Hey...wait!” Kohaku tried before his words devolved into quiet cries.

Every time Seiryu licked his chest, noises flowed from Kohaku’s mouth—they hardly sounded like they’d come from his own throat. What was going on? What was happening to him? Unable to keep up with everything, Kohaku could only tremble in the face of all these new stimuli.

Seiryu undid his own waist sash and opened his shenyi. Kohaku froze when he saw what Seiryu had revealed to him—he was unable to tear his eyes away from the sight.

“Wh-What is that?”

The long fabric around Seiryu’s waist was tented, hiding something beneath. Seiryu tilted his head to the side and parted the fabric, revealing something Kohaku had never seen before. Well, to be more precise, he had seen something similar to it on his own body. However, his was soft. It wasn’t so hard and intrusive in his daily life.

It was baffling. Something so firm protruding from Seiryu’s lower body would surely get in the way during fights, right? But Kohaku was in for an even bigger surprise. When Seiryu reached his hand into Kohaku’s robes, Kohaku noticed that the same part of his body was hard too—just like Seiryu’s.

“Wh-Why is this—” Would he have to live the rest of his life like this?

Then, Seiryu touched it. Kohaku tensed up in shock, and in the next instant, his body twitched and shook. That same itchy sensation from earlier dominated his senses.

“W-Wait, something weird is... Ah... J-Just a moment! You shouldn’t be...! This is...” Seiryu was holding his length and Kohaku’s in one hand, pressing them together, and every time Seiryu pistoned his hips, that itchy feeling grew more and more intense. Between the high-pitched noises involuntarily spilling from Kohaku’s mouth, he managed to cry out, “Wait, hold on! Something weird is—no, ahh, I feel—”

Seiryu let out a breath, and the air tickled Kohaku’s ear. Immediately after, Kohaku was overcome with the sensation of being sent adrift, like someone had lifted him into the air. It wasn’t the same comfort as floating in a tub full of warm water. No, it was so intense that it bordered on pain. So this was the pleasure he’d read about in the book.

Seiryu sighed. “Ah, Kohaku, you’re so cute. That felt incredible.”

“Are you...finally back to yourself?” Kohaku panted out.

Seiryu rubbed his nose against Kohaku’s before kissing his forehead. Kohaku stayed still, thinking this was their usual morning greeting. But then, Seiryu pressed their mouths together.

“I’m so happy you’re letting me go this far,” Seiryu murmured against his lips.

“Quit it,” Kohaku mumbled. “It’s impossible to talk like this.”

Did the people of that faraway country also exchange kisses on the mouth whenever they wanted to say hello to others? Kohaku wondered how they could do something this embarrassing every day.

Seiryu once again began to rub that part of Kohaku’s lower body, which had returned to its usual soft state.

“H-Hey, what are you doing?! Wai—I’m telling you to wait.” Kohaku tried to speak more, but he had to cut himself off with an embarrassingly high-pitched whine.

“It’s pleasurable, isn’t it? Instead of saying ‘wait,’ you should say ‘it feels good.’ That’ll make it feel even better.”

“I-It feels good? So, th-this is...ah...pleasure?”

“That’s right. It feels nice...so nice...for me too. Ahh, you’re adorable! You’re driving me crazy.”

“A-Again?” Kohaku gasped in between the involuntary moans. “You want to do it again? Ah, it...it feels so good.”

“Yes, again. Let’s drown in pleasure. I’m not doing anything painful right now, am I?”

Seiryu wasn’t wrong. Though it left an intensely buzzing sensation in Kohaku’s body, he didn’t hate it. In fact, it felt so good that Kohaku feared he would develop a craving for it.

“B-But if our skin touches, we’ll—ah—make a baby!”

“It’s all right—our bodies aren’t connected, so there’s no risk of pregnancy. Just leave everything to me and relax. Will you help me with my rut?”

“I-It’s all right? I-I won’t get pregnant?”

“That’s right. You’ll be fine.”

In that case, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to play along with Seiryu and ease his rut. He wouldn’t want Seiryu to go on a rampage again, and all of this closeness felt pleasurable.

“Please. Help me,” Seiryu whispered. Gripping Kohaku’s length, he swiped his thumb over the sensitive head. Mind blank, Kohaku could only nod. “Thank you, Kohaku.”

Seiryu pressed their mouths together again, and this time, he slid his tongue inside and wrapped it around Kohaku’s. Immediately, Kohaku tensed, fearing that Seiryu planned on biting him, but he never did. Before Kohaku even realized what he was doing, he was enthusiastically pressing his tongue against Seiryu’s. After all, it just felt so good.

Kohaku spent all night lost in the pleasure Seiryu wrung from his body; he didn’t even realize that time was passing until the sun rose outside. In fact, Kohaku couldn’t leave the cave until a few days later, when Seiryu’s rut finally ended.

***

“I’m heading out, Kohaku.”

“See you.”

Now that Seiryu’s rut was over, the pair would return to their usual daily life. At least, that was what Kohaku had thought would happen, but something had drastically changed between them. For starters, their morning greeting was different. Instead of kissing him on the forehead, Seiryu pressed their mouths together and slipped his tongue in. Quiet gasps escaped Kohaku throughout the kiss, and their tongues tangled together. Once Seiryu got his fill, he would pull back, peck Kohaku’s forehead, and only then would the greeting finally end.

“I’ll return at noon, so be a good boy for me until then,” Seiryu said. He used his finger to swipe saliva from Kohaku’s wet lips before he left.

As soon as the door shut behind Seiryu, Mashiro, who had been watching in silence the entire time, opened his mouth. “I wish he would tone things down when other people are around.”

“Do you seriously care about others watching you exchange greetings?”

“I don’t want Lord Seiryu glaring at me for saying too much, so I won’t even reply to that. Lord Kohaku, you’re so innocent... I worry about you sometimes.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Nothing. I don’t want to accidentally incur the dragon’s wrath, so I’ll just head off to my lessons for the day.”

Lately, Kohaku had seen Mashiro pulling a face like he had just bitten into a lemon, but he didn’t know the reason behind the expression. He tilted his head to the side as Mashiro bid him farewell and left. Alone in the room, Kohaku’s body felt strangely itchy, and he couldn’t sit still.

Not again... Ever since the night he’d spent with Seiryu in the cave, his body had changed. He now experienced strange hot flashes. Something was clearly off. It reminded him of the buzzing sensation he’d gotten when he and Seiryu had pressed their bare skin together, but it wasn’t as intense. It must be because Seiryu keeps doing strange things to me. Surely this odd feeling would stop after the matchmaking session was over and he could leave the village.

Leave the village? It was something he had always expected would happen, but the second the thought crossed his mind, something in Kohaku’s chest squeezed painfully. Get a hold of yourself! He couldn’t become accustomed to comfort. This village was indeed an enjoyable place to live. He didn’t have to fear his father’s scolding or worry about Mashiro’s safety. Every day, Kohaku got to eat delicious food. Every night, he could sleep in a nice bed with Seiryu’s warmth at his side.

None of this was permanent, though. Soon, he would have to return to his previous life. My previous life... He would go back to the White Tiger Clan’s village and live with Mashiro in that old, dilapidated manor. For years, he had thought of that house as the happiest place he could carve out for himself. But now, he felt like his life up to this point had been a sad and lonely one.

“I don’t want to go back,” Kohaku murmured before he gasped and hurriedly slapped his hand over his mouth. What did I just say? He hadn’t expected to blurt out the words, but he couldn’t deny the truth in them.

He had to leave, though—it was impossible for him to escape his destiny. The crow currently perched on the windowsill, cawing at him for attention, drove that point home. This crow was the one his father used during emergencies. Kohaku approached the bird, removed the scroll tied to its leg, and unfurled it to reveal a letter from his father.

“Demon appeared within territory. Exterminate it at once.”

The simply worded letter contained a map as well. Kohaku couldn’t disobey this order. His only choice was to go. After rushing through his morning preparations, he picked up his sword; he felt like it had been ages since the last time he’d held it.

Then, without telling anyone, he snuck out of the Dragon Clan’s village. If he exterminated the demon quickly enough, he could return without anyone noticing.

He had no idea that he would come to regret this impulsive decision.

***

“What the hell is this thing?!” Kohaku exclaimed at the sight of his quarry.

When he reached the place on the map, he encountered the largest demon he had ever seen. It was three times Kohaku’s height and had a fat physique. Hair covered its entire body, and it reeked—the stench was so awful that it left Kohaku feeling sick. The most troublesome feature of this demon was its corrosive saliva. Even the briefest, slightest contact with Kohaku’s skin had left behind a terrible burn.

Kohaku clicked his tongue. The tingling on his skin wasn’t just from the burn; his instincts were screaming a warning at him. This demon was different. It was the worst out of all the demons he’d faced throughout his career.

“Bastard!” he spat.

The one stroke of luck was that the demon couldn’t move very fast. If it had been quick, then Kohaku wouldn’t have been able to lift a finger against it. The demon raised both fists and slammed them down toward Kohaku, but he easily dodged the attack. He jumped onto the demon’s arm and used it as a ramp, sprinting up the limb and stabbing his sword into the monster’s eye.

The demon bellowed out a deafening roar, but Kohaku could tell that he’d inflicted some damage. If he used his speed to his advantage, he could defeat it.

Right as the thought passed through his mind, something flew at the demon from behind him. It hit and ricocheted off its gargantuan body with a light thud.

“Don’t scream and moan from such a pathetic attack!” someone shouted.

Kohaku spun around to see who it was. “Karin?!”

Karin was just standing there, holding some round objects in his hands.

“Get out of here!” Kohaku yelled as quickly as he could. “What do you think you’re doing?! Do you want to get involved in this fight?!”

But Karin’s response was to laugh and clutch his belly. “You still haven’t figured things out?! You’re as stupid as I knew you were!”

“What are you talking about?!”

“I was the one who unsealed that thing! Its job was to lure you here so that I could kill you!”

Kohaku’s breath caught in his throat—he was unable to say anything in response to Karin’s mocking words. Did he just say he unsealed this? That means this demon is so powerful that its previous combatant had no choice but to seal it away!

“You dumbass!” Kohaku snapped. “No sane person would’ve done such a thing! How do you plan on taking responsibility if this demon hurts or kills someone?!”

“You think I give a crap about that?!” Karin retorted. “If the demon could be sealed once, I’m sure someone can do it again!”

“Are you incapable of any forward thinking? Do you really think things will just work out for you like that?!”

Unbelievable! Did Karin even know how much damage this demon could cause if no one stepped in to do something about it?!

“Enough! Shut up, shut up, shut up!” Karin screamed. “You don’t know the first thing about me! I grew up with everyone telling me that I was born to become Lord Seiryu’s mate! That I was the only one who deserved to stand at that beautiful dragon’s side! And then you showed up! Someone as pathetic as you showed up and seduced him!”

“Did you seriously unseal this demon for such a ridiculous reason?!”

“‘Ridiculous’? Did you seriously just say it was ridiculous?!” Karin furiously shook his head, uncaring of the mess it made of his hair. “My entire life, I’ve worked hard to become Lord Seiryu’s mate. And yet, of all the beastfolk, someone as inept as you was the one he... Even the people of the Dragon Clan, who were supposed to support me, started accepting you among them! If you marry him, then all my efforts will have been in vain! If only...if only you would just go away, then Lord Seiryu would accept me at his side!”

Karin punctuated his tirade with a stomp on the ground, and then he began throwing those round objects at the demon again.

“What are you doing?!” Kohaku demanded.

“They’re special vitamins I made from demons I’ve caught! Consuming them will bring out a demon’s full power!”

“Are you nuts?! It’ll be next to impossible to stop this thing!”

“It’s all your fault! If you had never existed, I wouldn’t have had to do this! Because of you, the Dragon Clan banned me from their village! All I wanted to do was help Lord Seiryu through his rut!”

So, when I saw Karin enter the cave, he was sneaking in there without permission? Now wasn’t the time to ruminate on this, but Kohaku still felt a sense of relief at the revelation. He couldn’t understand why he felt that way.

“I even wore your clothes to put him in the mood!” Karin continued.

“My clothes?” Where did Karin even get my clothes?

Seeing the confusion on Kohaku’s face, Karin laughed, cruel and derisive. “Wow, you happy-go-lucky fool! Haven’t you noticed yet?! I knew you would be the one to show up for the demon extermination—now, how could I possibly know that?!”

“Huh?”

For the first time, Kohaku realized how odd this situation was. If Karin had unsealed this demon to kill Kohaku, how had he been able to wait here for Kohaku to arrive? But before a hypothesis could take proper shape in Kohaku’s mind, the demon let out a guttural growl, interrupting his thoughts.

“Graaagh!” the demon roared.

Things happened so fast that Kohaku’s mind couldn’t keep up. It took everything he had to dodge the demon’s attack—he didn’t have time to push Karin out of the way.

“A-Aaaahhh! I-It burns!” Karin screamed. He’d taken the brunt of the corrosive attack after Kohaku had jumped out of the way.

“Karin!”

Kohaku could see Karin rolling on the ground clutching at his face, but there was nothing he could do for him now. A sizzling noise and an awful stench rose in the air as Karin, voice trembling in pain, wailed, “My...! My face! This wasn’t how things were supposed to go! This wasn’t how he said everything would play out! Why isn’t he here to save me?! Liar! He said that he would do something about the demon!”

As much as Karin’s furious words piqued his curiosity, Kohaku had to deal with the demon as quickly as possible. His priority was protecting himself, and he could think about everything else later.

His heart felt like it was falling to pieces, but he collected himself enough to stand before the demon and yell, “Come at me!”

The ensuing fight was impossible to win—Kohaku did his best to simply survive. The demon was much too powerful for him to handle on his own. Merely keeping up with it whittled away at his stamina little by little until, by the time he realized he was out of energy, he was already swaying and unable to stand up straight. Burns covered his body, and it took everything he had left to remain on his feet.

This could be it. For the first time, Kohaku prepared himself for the possibility that he would die. Oddly, even though this was the first time he had ever been faced with it, he felt a sense of déjà vu.

Is this really my first brush with death? Something...something about this feels familiar. The fear of my body growing colder, the moment that my mind gives up on everything...

Wait, that’s right. I’ve gone through this before. It was...back then! How could I have ever forgotten?

It was as if a seal had been broken in his brain—memories flooded through his mind. Something like this had happened when he was still a child. The demon from his past overlapped with the demon before him.

“Kohaku, run away!”

Yes, on that day, when they had been playing in their usual spot, this demon had appeared from out of nowhere. Seiryu had been its first target. Kohaku could still remember the sensation of his leg connecting with the demon’s arm when he’d kicked it away as it had reached out to a fleeing Seiryu.

“Keep running, Seiryu!”

His kick hadn’t been enough to stop the demon, and the demon had caught Kohaku instead. He’d tried to struggle free, but he’d been unable to do anything. With a horrible crunching noise, the demon had snapped the bone in his leg.

“Kohaku!” Seiryu had cried when he’d heard Kohaku’s scream.

“Don’t come any closer!” Kohaku had managed to yell, stopping Seiryu from rushing back for him. He could still remember the burning in his throat—he’d screamed so loudly, to the point of pain, in order to warn Seiryu away. Kohaku subconsciously reached up to brush his fingers against his neck. He could still remember the despair he’d felt when the demon’s arm had plunged into his chest.

“You’re the demon from back then!” Kohaku snarled.

This was the same demon that had thrust Kohaku into despair as a kid. He and Seiryu had been playing in their usual spot when this creature had suddenly appeared and attacked them. They hadn’t been able to do anything to defend themselves or fight back. The demon had almost killed Kohaku before the adults had arrived.

He touched his chest. That’s right. He couldn’t remember where he’d gotten the old injury on his chest, but it was from when the demon had almost killed him. The demon had opened a hole in his chest and burned him head to toe. Kohaku should have died. But then, why...? Why am I still alive?

The demon’s growl and roar brought Kohaku’s mind back to the present, but it was too late. A second’s hesitation could cost him his life. He knew that! The demon’s arm flew in from the side, punching Kohaku’s body and sending him flying. The moment the fist connected, he heard his bones creaking inside him.

“Gah!”

Blood sprayed from his mouth as his body slammed onto the ground. He tried to get up, but by the time he’d collected himself from the initial damage, the demon was already preparing a second strike. Sensing that he didn’t have enough time to dodge, he crossed his arms overhead to minimize the impact as much as he could.

Suddenly—

“Kohaku!”

—the demon was tossed to the side with a thunderous, earthshaking crash. Immediately after, Seiryu rushed up to Kohaku. In contrast to Kohaku’s sigh of relief, Seiryu’s face paled when he saw the state Kohaku was in.

“Kohaku, you... You’re going to...”

“Seiryu?”

He could hear Seiryu’s ragged breathing, and then, his body disappeared in the blink of an eye. In the next moment, a dragon—Seiryu’s draconic form—appeared overhead. Rain began to pour from the heavens. Kohaku couldn’t tear his eyes away from Seiryu, even as drops of rain collected on his eyelashes. Lightning flashed through the sky, and he didn’t even have the time to admire its beauty before a bolt came crashing down onto the demon. The demon teetered, then fell to the ground with an impact Kohaku could feel rumble through the earth.

“He can control the weather?” Kohaku murmured.

The dragon’s power was so incredible that Kohaku felt foolish—how had he ever believed that he had a chance of defeating Seiryu? The fight was over so quickly and easily that it was almost anticlimactic. That demon had given him so much trouble, and yet Seiryu had defeated it in a single strike. The difference between his strength and Kohaku’s was so clear that Kohaku couldn’t even find it in himself to feel jealousy.

Kohaku laughed wryly as he sat up and stared up at the sky. The sight of the all-powerful dragon soaring through the air with lightning illuminating both it and the heavens was strikingly beautiful.

In any case, the demon had been defeated. Kohaku could now pass out without any worry. He flopped down and closed his eyes, but before he could drift off, he felt the wind grow more intense. He cracked open his eyes and saw a tornado forming in the distance. Wait, don’t tell me Seiryu’s responsible for that?!

He looked up again. The weather was awful, with storms and tornadoes threatening to cover the entire sky. But why? Seiryu defeated the demon. What else could he be fighting against?

At that moment, Seiryu roared so loudly that the very air vibrated with the noise. Kohaku pushed his aching body to a sitting position. It didn’t hurt as much as before. Maybe it was because of Seiryu’s rain. Perhaps he had imbued the water with healing properties.

“Seiryu!” Kohaku yelled. Breathing came easier than it had before. Still, Seiryu didn’t respond to Kohaku. Had he lost control over himself again? In disbelief at how long it had taken him to reach that conclusion, Kohaku somehow managed to get onto his feet. He took a step toward Seiryu. “Stop!” But Seiryu was so high up in the sky that Kohaku’s voice couldn’t reach him. Annoyed, Kohaku clicked his tongue.

“Lord Kohaku!” Mashiro’s voice cut through the storm. Kohaku looked down to see Mashiro, along with other members of the Dragon Clan, running toward them, their expressions filled with obvious panic. “Why did you disappear on us?! You threw Lord Seiryu into a tizzy! Do you know how much trouble we went through because of that?!”

“What’s happening right now is much more trouble!” Kohaku retorted.

“You’re right about that! What is he so angry abo— Whoa, wait a second! Lord Kohaku, how did you get those injuries?! Please, stop that! How many times do I have to tell you to take better care of yourself?!”

“I’m not getting hurt on purpose!” In fact, Kohaku wished Mashiro would praise him for surviving his fight with the demon.

But instead of praising him, Mashiro’s glare intensified, and he yelled, “Your usual attitude is why Lord Seiryu is acting that way! Be more careful with yourself! Do you plan on ending this world?!”

“How are my injuries the reason he’s acting that way?!”

Throughout their argument, the rain never let up—it soaked everyone to the bone. Kohaku’s bangs were sticking to his forehead, and he irritably pushed them out of his face. He was about to yell at Mashiro again when the boy shoved him forward.

“All right, that’s enough! Go calm him down! You’re the only one who can!”

Yeah, sure, I’d love to, but he’s so high up. How in the world can I reach him?

“Lord Seiryu! Please calm yourself!”

“It’s all right, Lord Seiryu! He’s alive!”

“Lord Seiryu!”

Among the Dragon Clan, only a handful of people could transform into full dragons. And of that handful, how many of them could fly high enough to reach Seiryu? But it didn’t matter if they could or not. They had to find a way up there.

“Can anyone transform into a dragon?!” Kohaku shouted.

The twins quickly pushed their way through the crowd.

“We can’t turn into a big one,” said one twin.

“But we’re large enough to carry a single passenger,” said the other.

“Great!” Kohaku replied. “Take me up to him!”

“Very well.”

“Understood.”

The twins pressed their palms together and transformed into a single small dragon.

I see how it works. They’re still young and inexperienced, but they can work together to transform. “Thanks for the ride!”

“Of course.”

Kohaku got onto the twin dragon’s back, and in no time at all, it slithered its way up into the sky. Finally, they could approach Seiryu, whose response to them was a furious glare and a roar.

“Hey!” Kohaku yelled. He leaped off the twins’ back and landed on Seiryu’s snout. It was an unstable position, given how much Seiryu kept moving, so Kohaku grabbed onto his whiskers as a lifeline. He then continued to berate him. “Enough!”

What was wrong with Seiryu? He would never give a straight answer when Kohaku asked if he liked him, but he would always lose control of his temper if anything happened to Kohaku. His words never matched his actions; he was incomprehensible. That was why Kohaku found it annoying to spend time with Seiryu.

Despite all that, Kohaku would always get his hopes up when Seiryu was kind to him, which would lead to him feeling let down when Seiryu betrayed his expectations. It seriously pissed him off.

“What are you raging about?! This has nothing to do with you!”

As if to argue against Kohaku’s words, Seiryu’s tail lashed with obvious frustration. The sight of it further angered Kohaku. To expel his rage, he kicked Seiryu’s face, right between his brows.

“What the actual hell is your problem?! You don’t even like me, so why are you getting angry on my behalf?!”

Kohaku was inept and useless, and no one cared about him. He’d lived his entire life without relying on anyone. But earlier, he had felt palpable relief when he’d seen Seiryu saving him. It was all because this man had spoiled him rotten.

“It’s all your fault!”

Kohaku was supposed to have been able to live without anyone’s help. But seeing Seiryu lose his temper on his behalf, Kohaku couldn’t help but raise his hopes once again, even though he knew that Seiryu would only disappoint him.

I hate you. If only I could fully commit to my hatred of you, things would be so much easier for me, but no matter how much time passes, I can’t. I can pretend I do all I want, but a part of me refuses to give up on my expectations for you—even though you’ve betrayed me so many times, and I know that you’ll never love me back. It’s so unfair how easily you can always steal my heart away.

Kohaku could finally admit it to himself: He had never stopped loving this man.

Though he knew that his feelings weren’t reciprocated, and he had been hurt by Seiryu letting him down, the truth was that he could never actually hate Seiryu. This would never change for as long as he lived.

In that case, who cared? Kohaku felt almost like he was giving up. He couldn’t hold himself back anymore. His emotions had ballooned until they were too big to keep inside, and his only recourse was to let them out.

“You always act this way... That’s why I can’t stop myself from loving you, dummy.”

Kohaku had practically muttered the words under his breath. But his voice had reached the ears of the one person—the only person—he’d dedicated his love to.

Seiryu started his descent without warning.

“Whoa, h-hey!” Kohaku complained, hurriedly grabbing onto Seiryu’s horns.

Seiryu lowered his body to the ground, and as soon as he dropped Kohaku off, he returned to his human form and hugged Kohaku in a tight embrace.

“I love you too!” he yelled.

“Huh?”

Kohaku couldn’t believe what he was hearing. After all, no matter how many times he’d asked Seiryu how he felt, Seiryu had never once said these words. So why? Why now? What had changed?

Ignoring Kohaku’s bewilderment, Seiryu tightened his hold on him. “I love you! So, so much! I’ve always wanted to tell you that!”

Tears were pouring from Seiryu’s eyes as he rubbed his damp cheek against Kohaku’s. It only added to the confusion.

“W-Wait a second! What is happening here?! I’ve asked you if you loved me or not so many times, and not once did you ever give me an answer! So why now—”

“I couldn’t answer you! That was a part of the contract I made with the gods when I begged them to save you!”

“The contract with the gods?”

When he heard those words, the final seal on Kohaku’s memory slid open.

***

“Kohaku!”

Seiryu rushed over, his face pale. His expression made it clear that there was no saving his friend.

“No, no! Don’t leave me behind!”

As much as Kohaku wanted to reach up and brush away the fat tears rolling down Seiryu’s cheeks, he couldn’t even lift his hand. He didn’t want to be the reason for that expression on Seiryu’s face, but there was nothing he could do. That fact pained him more than dying. His body in Seiryu’s arms had lost almost all sensation. Considering the damage that had been done, maybe it was for the best.

“Don’t go! Don’t leave me alone!”

“Stop...crying...”

Though Kohaku had summoned all his strength to murmur those words, his voice was weak and raspy, even quieter than a whisper. But it reached Seiryu’s ears, and the boy’s face crumpled again.

“Why, Kohaku? How did things come to this?!”

Oh, my beloved Seiryu. As happy as Kohaku was that his last sight would be Seiryu’s beautiful face, he dearly wished to see another expression. So he forced himself to smile.

“Stop crying. I liked your face better...when you smiled.” Please, just smile for me in my last moments.

Kohaku couldn’t say those final words. He felt like something inside him was disappearing at an alarming rate. Everything was fading. This was the end.

He felt someone lift him in their arms, and it reminded him of a mother’s warmth—something he had never felt before. He slowly relaxed his body, and all the strength drained from him.

“Kohaku?! Kohaku! No, wait! Please, stop! How could this...? Kohaku!”

Seiryu was the only person to have ever told Kohaku that he loved him. It was the first time anyone had ever needed Kohaku, and it had been a warm and fuzzy feeling. Yet, at the very end, he was the one causing Seiryu’s tears. I’m so sorry.

“Someone...! Someone help Kohaku, please! I’ll do anything! Don’t take Kohaku from me!”

He could still hear Seiryu’s pained cries. Though he had already accepted his death, Seiryu was trying so hard for him that the thought I don’t want to die yet... began surfacing in Kohaku’s mind.

But it was too late. He couldn’t resist his own encroaching end.

At that moment, someone’s voice echoed directly in his head: “No, Kohaku! If Kohaku has to die, then I’ll die with him!”

“Seiryu...”

The warmth enveloping his body vanished, and a shadow appeared above him. Unable to move, Kohaku shifted his gaze until he saw a dragon floating in the sky.

“I’ll destroy everything! This world took Kohaku away from me! I have no need of such a world!”

He...transformed? Even on the brink of death, Kohaku couldn’t help but find the sight of the dragon beautiful.

“Stop...” he tried, but his voice couldn’t reach Seiryu.

As if in response to Seiryu’s wails, it began to rain, sapping Kohaku’s body of its remaining heat. Someone...someone save me... Kohaku couldn’t die here while Seiryu was in such a state. Tears welled up in his eyes, mixing with the rain falling onto his face and trickling down his cheeks. He couldn’t even reach up to wipe them away. Right as he was about to close his eyes in despair...

Light filled the area, and a voice echoed from somewhere.

“Do you want to save him?”

It wasn’t directed at Kohaku; rather, the speaker was talking to Seiryu. Without hesitation, Seiryu replied, “I do!”

“No matter what you have to sacrifice?”

“I’ll give you anything you ask for, even if it’s my own life! So please, save Kohaku!”

“Stop...you idiot...”

Kohaku didn’t want Seiryu to sacrifice himself for his sake. Dummy! If you’re not around, then there’s no point in me surviving! He wanted to yell that to Seiryu, but he couldn’t find his voice. He couldn’t even stand.

No, Seiryu, don’t leave me alone!

That was the last thought Kohaku had before darkness swallowed him whole.

***

How could Kohaku have forgotten something so important? The memory was now so vivid that his heart squeezed with the same pain he’d felt back then, and he subconsciously tightened his arms around the warmth in his chest to make sure it was still there.

“That demon was the same one that appeared when we were children,” Seiryu explained. “I couldn’t stand idly by and watch your life spill out of you. It was the first time I had ever transformed.” Seiryu hugged Kohaku back, his arms trembling as fiercely as his voice. He, too, must have relived that moment. “But I was still young and inexperienced, and I couldn’t do anything on my own. The moment I thought I should die with you, a god appeared before me.” Seiryu ran a shaking hand down Kohaku’s back, still lost in his past emotions. Then, he squeezed Kohaku tightly, as if Kohaku were a precious treasure. “The god asked if I wanted to save you. I, of course, gave him my reply without hesitation. There was only ever one answer I could have given.”

“Are you stupid?!” Kohaku yelled. “Who knows what they could have requested of you?!”

“I didn’t care what I had to sacrifice! I would have offered them my life if it meant you would have survived! But the heavens really see all. In the end, the god asked for the one thing I didn’t want to lose.” Seiryu drew back from Kohaku slightly with a weak smile.

“What did you give them?”

What was the one thing Seiryu didn’t want to lose? He had everything—powerful magic, beautiful looks, a superior education, and the highest position in beastfolk society. So, what could Seiryu have possibly offered the god?

Seiryu’s answer was one Kohaku could have never expected.

“Words to profess my love to you.”

Kohaku gasped. “You’re kidding, right?” That was the contract Seiryu had made with the heavens? He found it hard to believe because... “If that were the case, then you shouldn’t have been able to say that you love me just now.”

Only moments ago, Seiryu had confessed his affection for Kohaku. If he had lost the words in his contract with the god, then he shouldn’t have been able to say it. Was he trying to worm his way out of telling Kohaku the truth? Kohaku glared at Seiryu, who gave a small shake of his head.

“Back then, the god said that if I could get you to confess your love for me first, they would give me back what they took,” Seiryu explained. “Saving your life was the priority, so I accepted the terms.”

So that was why Seiryu never once responded to Kohaku’s repeated question of “Do you love me?” Now that he thought back to those conversations, Seiryu had always remained silent, but not once had he answered in the negative. Kohaku couldn’t believe how long it’d taken him to realize that.

When he looked down to meet Seiryu’s eyes, he couldn’t see any deception in them. Instead, they were brimming with his overflowing emotions for Kohaku. It must have been this way for a long time now. Seiryu’s eyes had always been honest; Kohaku had simply never tried to parse the feelings within them. In the centuries that Kohaku had been avoiding Seiryu, Seiryu had never once stopped caring for him. What could have been passing through his mind and heart in all that time?

“Since then, my days have been hell on earth,” Seiryu murmured. “You kept distancing yourself from me. I love you so much, yet you’re the one person I could never say those words to. No matter what I tried, I couldn’t give up on you, so I accepted the matchmaking sessions.”

“I don’t... I don’t understand. Why did you go on all those arranged dates if you love me?”

Didn’t it count as cheating if he had affections for Kohaku yet took on another as his mate? Kohaku knew it was wrong to think of Seiryu in this way when Seiryu had saved his life. But he couldn’t contain the question; his heart simply refused to accept it.

“Arranged dates don’t equate to becoming mates,” Seiryu said.

“Aren’t you looking for a mate when you go on an arranged date, though?”

“Well, yes. You got me there.” Seiryu rested the palm of his hand against Kohaku’s face. Kohaku could feel Seiryu’s love for him through that physical contact, which made it even stranger. You love me so much, so how could you have gone on so many matchmaking sessions? “I’m sure you know this, but there are many conditions one has to meet when matchmaking with a member of the Dragon Clan.”

“Yeah, I’m aware. That’s why no one has ever succeeded in a matchmaking session with you, right?”

Seiryu nodded at Kohaku’s words. His eyes softened as he rubbed his thumb along Kohaku’s cheekbone. “I can come up with one of those conditions myself.” He lifted his other hand and cupped Kohaku’s face in both palms. His expression twisted his tear-streaked face, and he confessed, “I only set one condition for a matchmaking session to succeed: They had to be you.”

Kohaku sucked in a breath. Just how many times would Seiryu surprise him? He couldn’t speak and could only stare at Seiryu with wide eyes.

“No one can remove or overwrite that condition,” Seiryu continued, his years of love spilling from his mouth. “Then, I simply waited until it was your turn to have a matchmaking session with me.”

The Dragon Clan’s matchmaking sessions were important to all beastfolk. The premise was that if Seiryu continued to have his arranged dates, there was the chance that eventually, Kohaku would be chosen as his partner. But that would take an unfathomable amount of time. In reality, it had taken two hundred and fifty years until Kohaku’s turn.

“In the beginning, the Dragon Clan believed that I would change the condition of my own volition once I met someone who would make for a suitable partner,” Seiryu said. “But over time, they came to understand my feelings for you.”

I don’t think they understood. I think they gave up. The Dragon Clan had spent two hundred and fifty years scouring the tribes for a partner worthy of their chieftain, so they likely didn’t want to accept that he only had eyes for Kohaku as a mate.

“I applied for a matchmaking session with the White Tiger Clan so many times, but your father kept turning me down. So I had the impression that your father really treasured you. And yet, when it came time for your arranged date, your father hurriedly set up a matchmaking session with someone other than me.”

Kohaku remained silent as he digested Seiryu’s information. He finally knew the reason behind his father’s sudden decision to send Kohaku on an arranged date: He must have realized that if he didn’t do something, Kohaku would have a matchmaking session with the Dragon Clan. Instead of letting that happen, he tried to marry Kohaku off to a girl in a clan he was allied with. That way, he could continue using Kohaku as a tool.

However, his father’s plot didn’t work. Kohaku failed in his matchmaking session with the Bear Clan girl. As a result, his father had been left with no choice but to send Kohaku to the Dragon Clan for matchmaking.

“There’s no way I could just watch that happen,” Seiryu said. “I pressured your father, asking him questions like ‘You don’t mind setting up arranged dates with other clans, yet you refuse an invitation from the Dragon Clan?’ Eventually, he couldn’t turn me down anymore and agreed to send you to our village.”

“Are you stupid or something?” Kohaku muttered. You went that far for me? For someone as small and pathetic as me?

“I don’t care how stupid I must seem. All I want is to be by your side. Even if I could never tell you how much I love you, I would do anything to spend my life by your side. That’s the one thing I refuse to give up to anyone. No matter how cunning or pathetic I have to be, I won’t let someone else have you.”

Seiryu was such an idiot. Despite knowing that he could never confess his feelings to Kohaku, he still wanted to be with him. Kohaku had once told Seiryu that he had no intention of falling for someone who didn’t love him. Yet, Seiryu had still chosen to remain at Kohaku’s side. How painful must it have been for Seiryu to make that decision?

Seiryu pressed his forehead against Kohaku’s. “But just now, you said that you love me! Do you understand how happy I am?”

“You...”

Tears rained down from Seiryu’s eyes again. This time, Kohaku knew that they were tears of happiness.

“Kohaku. Oh, Kohaku, I love you! You’re the only person I’ve ever loved, and that will never change for as long as we live. There’s no one else for me.”

Seiryu spoke the truth, plain and clear. Kohaku could believe him from the very bottom of his heart. After all, Seiryu had put everything on the line to save Kohaku. He would have offered his own life if the god had demanded it of him. No one else would ever love Kohaku as much as Seiryu did.

After rubbing their noses together, Seiryu said, “Become my mate.”

“Your mate?”

“I’ll do my best to make you happy. I won’t let anyone get in our way. If they try, I’ll kick them out of our path.”

Become Seiryu’s mate? If Kohaku acquiesced, he would get to be with Seiryu forever. He would never have to give up this warmth.

“You don’t have to make me happy,” Kohaku said, touching Seiryu’s cheek and wiping away the trickling tears with his thumb.

“Don’t say that, Kohaku. I—”

“You don’t have to make me happy. Just stay with me and never let go.”

Kohaku had dreamed of spending his life with someone. Loneliness had been his default state since childhood, and he often put up a strong front, claiming that he didn’t need to rely on others. But in his heart, he was always looking for a person who would stay with him for the rest of his years.

When he’d adopted Mashiro, he had hoped that the boy would be that person. However, Mashiro was a human; his shorter lifespan meant that he would be gone in the blink of an eye. Then, after Mashiro’s death, Kohaku would be all alone again. He had lived the past few years averting his gaze from this truth.

But Seiryu would be with him forever. No, in fact, he wanted Seiryu to be with him. That was truly what Kohaku desired.

“I’ll stay with you,” Seiryu said. “Even if you don’t want me around anymore, I’ll always be there for you.”

“In that case, I’ll become your mate.”

The second the words passed through Kohaku’s lips, Seiryu’s beautiful face softened with a sweet expression. Even Kohaku, who had grown used to the sight, sucked in a breath at the dramatic change. He indulged himself in the joy of someone sincerely wanting and caring for him.

Kohaku had always wanted to be special to someone. But for centuries now, he had been Seiryu’s special someone.

“Thank you, Kohaku.”

Seiryu pressed their mouths together and slipped his tongue in. The second Kohaku was about to respond to the kiss, he felt something odd and tilted his head.

“What’s wrong?” Seiryu whispered.

It felt like a sudden heat had risen within Kohaku’s body. Then, in the next second, the unexpected happened.

“Ah!” Kohaku gasped as his body swayed.

Seiryu hurriedly dragged him close by the waist, and as soon as Kohaku pressed his cheek against Seiryu’s chest, the heat became worse.

He couldn’t stop panting. What was this? What was happening to him? His thoughts were a jumbled mess in his head.

Kohaku looked up at Seiryu. He wanted to kiss that mouth. Wanted to shove his tongue in and entangle it with Seiryu’s. He was desperate for pleasure.

“Wait, don’t tell me you...” Seiryu must have realized something. He picked Kohaku up and turned back to look at the crowd, who were still watching from a distance. “All of you, turn your backs to us! If you look, I’ll kill you!”

“Y-Yessir!”

Seiryu’s voice was so panicked that it was making Kohaku worry. Was this some kind of emergency?

“Am I going to die?” Kohaku rasped.

“Don’t say such an ill-omened thing. That’s not what’s happening. Kohaku, you’re going through your heat.”

“My heat?” This is what a heat feels like?

“Ah, this isn’t good. Kohaku, we have to hurry. Your heat is affecting me; I won’t be able to contain myself.” With a murmured apology, Seiryu pressed his lips against Kohaku’s forehead. He could feel Seiryu’s magic entering him through the contact. “Sleep for a while.”

Hearing those words, Kohaku closed his eyes without worry. He knew that, as long as he was enveloped in Seiryu’s warm arms, he would be safe.

***

“Ah, it feels so good... Aahnnn...”

The next time Kohaku opened his eyes, he was back in Seiryu’s room in the Dragon Clan village. At some point, he had been stripped nude, and he was currently enveloped in Seiryu’s embrace. The thing between his legs had gotten hard again. Seiryu was stroking it with his hand, and Kohaku was drowning in pleasure, soaking in the sensations as he rocked his hips back and forth.

“A-Ah, w-wait! Something...something’s happening...again!”

“That’s an orgasm. When you feel it, you should say you’re coming.”

“O-Orgasm? Coming? A-Ah, I’m coming! Wai—I’m coming!”

Wetness erupted from the tip of Kohaku’s length, and the strength drained from his body. If he could experience such ecstasy every time he went through his heat, then maybe it wasn’t so bad. As the thought passed through his mind, Seiryu flipped his boneless body. Then, oddly enough, he grabbed Kohaku’s behind.

“What are you doing?” Kohaku mumbled, his mind still clouded over. His body wasn’t used to pleasure, and he still hadn’t recovered enough to regain control over his muscles and push up off the mattress. Instead of receiving a response from Seiryu, he felt something wet slip into the cleft of his backside. “Eek! Wh-What are you doing?! Wait! Wh-Why are you l-licking there?! Hold on!” The rest of Kohaku’s attempts to stop Seiryu dissolved into soft moans.

“Please put up with this for just a little longer. For us to connect our bodies, I have to prepare you.”

“W-Wait a...agh! C-Connect? From there?”

Unbelievable. Kohaku hadn’t realized that his rear was also meant for penetration. Kohaku had never even properly seen that part of his body, and the thought of Seiryu spreading apart his cheeks to reveal and gaze at his hole made him want to crawl away.

“You said you’d become my mate, didn’t you? I want to connect with you as soon as possible. I want to make you mine, in both body and soul. Will you let me in?”

Kohaku managed to twist his neck enough to look at Seiryu behind him. Seiryu was looking at him like he wasn’t sure what to do. Even if Kohaku had lost his childhood memories, he had made Seiryu endure so much. He didn’t want Seiryu to wait any longer.

“I-I did say I would be your mate,” Kohaku stammered. It was the best he could do, and Seiryu’s expression softened at his words. But the next second, Seiryu said something insane.

“Thank you. Now then, I’m going to push my finger in, so relax your muscles.”

“Your finger?!”

Wasn’t it enough that Seiryu had pressed his tongue inside? Was he really going to stick his finger in too?! What in the world was waiting for Kohaku once Seiryu finished his preparations? A mix of trepidation and excitement swirled in the pit of Kohaku’s belly. He was elated that he could become Seiryu’s mate, but he wasn’t confident that he would be able to connect his body with Seiryu’s properly. After all, this was his first time. Though breathless, he managed to convey his worries to Seiryu.

“Don’t worry,” Seiryu replied after Kohaku finished speaking. “You’re my first too. But to make sure that this moment would be perfect, I’ve done as much reading and research into the topic as possible.”

Oh. In that case, it’s fine, Kohaku thought. This was the first time for both of them, so it didn’t matter if things ended up a little unsightly. If this was necessary to become mates, then Kohaku would put up with anything.

At this point, Kohaku had no idea how long and pleasurable the trials and tribulations ahead of him would be.

***

“Hgh, ah... Agh!”

For what felt like hours, Seiryu had lapped at Kohaku and teased him with a finger. Kohaku had been shamefully moaning the entire time. By the time Seiryu had said, “Finally, we can be one,” Kohaku had even felt a sense of relief.

But Kohaku hadn’t understood the true meaning of “connecting bodies.” If he had known from the start that Seiryu would be pressing that large, firm length into his hole, he would’ve surely run away.

“W-Wait, ah...!”

Seiryu’s hard shaft slid its way deep into Kohaku’s body. Kohaku shuddered at the foreign sensation. His hole had loosened after the tenacious licking, so it hadn’t hurt when Seiryu had pushed inside, but he could feel the heat from Seiryu’s length pulsing in time with his heartbeat.

Kohaku moaned, “H-How far are you...? H-Hold on a second!” His back and shoulders trembled as he felt Seiryu’s heat work its way farther inside. He fearfully wondered how deep Seiryu planned to go.

“Just a bit more. A little more...”

Seiryu’s mouth was so close to Kohaku’s ear that he could hear the clicking of his teeth when he gritted them. Seiryu’s feeling pain.It must be because I’m doing a poor job, Kohaku thought. Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes at the thought.

“I’m so sorry, Kohaku. Does it hurt?”

Seiryu raised his head and peered down. His expression caused a buzzing sensation to pass through Kohaku’s lower stomach. Before Kohaku knew what he was doing, he was moving his hips. Something strange was happening to his body—it felt like it was no longer under his control, and it was moving contrary to his will. His consciousness seemed to have melted away under the heat, and he couldn’t put his thoughts in order. All he knew was that this sensation felt good and that he loved the man in front of him.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that. I won’t be able to be gentle with you,” Seiryu said in a hoarse voice. His hard, scorching length, embedded in Kohaku’s stomach, twitched.

Right. That’s Seiryu’s heat. Seiryu is inside my body. The thought brought Kohaku immense relief. He had taken Seiryu’s body into his, and now, Seiryu’s body was his own. Right now, Seiryu undoubtedly belongs to me.

“Seiryu... You’re mine...”

“Of course I am. I’ll give you my everything.” Seiryu hugged Kohaku close, penetrating into the very depths of his body.

This warmth is mine. With that powerful realization, something strange happened to Kohaku. Confused, he raised his voice in a loud cry. He had the oddest sensation of something bursting inside him. Like the cracking of an eggshell, something sloughed off his skin. And then...

“Kohaku!” Seiryu was the first to notice the change in Kohaku’s body. “You...transformed!”

“Huh?”

“Your ears popped out!”

Kohaku reached up to touch the top of his head. His fingers brushed against something furry he had never felt before.

“These are...my ears?” he said.

“Yes!” Seiryu exclaimed. “They’re adorable. And oh, look, your tail came out too.”

Seiryu reached around to touch something, and the moment he made contact, Kohaku twitched. He had gained a new sensation in his body. When he looked behind him, he saw a fluffy tail wagging in Seiryu’s hand. It was, without a doubt, part of him now.

“I...transformed?” Kohaku asked hesitantly.

“Seems like it.”

When he heard Seiryu confirm it, the realization finally sank in.

“I’m...not worthless anymore?”

“I’ve never thought of you as worthless, but I doubt anyone can say that of you now.”

Kohaku laughed. He’d transformed. He’d finally transformed! The weight he’d carried in his chest melted away. For as long as he could remember, he had hated himself and his inability to transform. It was something he had always desperately wanted to achieve, since transformation was proof of a beastfolk’s identity. He’d always thought that if he could transform, his father would pay attention to him and acknowledge him. Kohaku had hoped to gain that recognition. But now...

“Have I become a suitable mate for you?” he asked. If this increased his worth, even a little, and made Kohaku into someone who could stand beside Seiryu as his partner, then he would be happy.

“Don’t ask such foolish questions. I was the one who wanted to become a man worthy of being your mate,” Seiryu murmured, stroking Kohaku’s cheek.

But an instant later, Seiryu’s expression darkened, and this reaction made Kohaku anxious. He’d thought that he had finally achieved transformation, but maybe something had gone wrong.

“I didn’t realize you would be so cute when transformed,” Seiryu growled softly. “You’ll attract everyone who lays eyes on you.”

“Huh?” That was the last thing he’d expected Seiryu to say.

Seiryu nibbled on Kohaku’s new, fluffy ears before saying in a lower voice, “You mustn’t, Kohaku. Absolutely not. Don’t show this form to anyone else.”

“W-Wait, don’t bite me there! Ah, no... I finally transformed!”

“Promise me.” Seiryu pressed deeper inside Kohaku, and the sensation forced out a cry so high-pitched that Kohaku was surprised he could produce such a sound. Embarrassed, he tried to cover his mouth, but Seiryu pressed down on both his wrists before he could move. “Kohaku?”

“Ngh, ah, but I...I finally transformed!”

“Only transform when we’re feeling good together. Let me be the only one who gets to see you like this.”

“When we’re...feeling good together?” Kohaku echoed between pants and moans.

“That’s right. Please? Will you accept my selfish request?” Seiryu rubbed his face against Kohaku’s shoulder like he was asking to be doted upon, and Kohaku nodded several times.

“I-I will! I’ll do that—ah—so—” It was impossible to think through his decision when Seiryu kept relentlessly pressing against Kohaku’s insides.

“Kohaku, Kohaku... Ahh, it feels good, doesn’t it?”

“Hngh, i-it does... Ah, wait, I’m coming! I’m co—”

“I’m at my limit too. I’m going to come inside.”

“I-Inside? Agh... Inside?” Kohaku could only repeat what Seiryu had said, unable to comprehend the meaning behind it. He was lost in a pleasure that felt like it enveloped and lifted him into the air.

Kohaku cried out, and at the same time, he felt something hot flooding deep within him. He’d learned firsthand what Seiryu had meant when he’d said he would “come inside.” All Kohaku could hear was the sound of their heavy breathing.

They had connected their bodies. Feeling accomplished and proud, Kohaku was about to relax when...

“I haven’t had enough. Not at all,” Seiryu said.

“Huh?”

Before Kohaku could say or do anything, Seiryu wrapped him up in a tight embrace once more.

“Wait a second, I-I can’t... You’ll split me apart!” Kohaku panted between moans.

Every time Seiryu thrust his girth inside, Kohaku felt like it would stab clean through his belly. That was how deep Seiryu had nestled within him. Kohaku looked up at Seiryu, wordlessly pleading for mercy, but the eye contact only further excited Seiryu.

“Kohaku, you’re adorable. You’re so cute! I’ve wanted to do this for so long... I’ll never let go of you again. I hope you’re ready.”

With both hands still gripping Kohaku’s wrists, Seiryu bucked in and out so aggressively that his hips slapped against Kohaku’s body. With each thrust, more wetness spurted from between Kohaku’s legs, soiling his stomach.

“I-I came!” he cried. “I’m coming! Ah, agh, I’m still coming, so...”

“Me too! I’ll pour all my seed inside you. And then, once your body is used to mine, you’ll be able to get pregnant with a dragon’s child.”

“I-I can’t take much more,” Kohaku cried out between moans. “My stomach feels so full! I can’t—”

Seiryu had come inside Kohaku so many times that he’d lost count. Wet squelches accompanied every one of Seiryu’s thrusts, and the white spend that Kohaku’s body was unable to contain was leaking continually from his hole.

Yet despite that, Seiryu panted excitedly—he still hadn’t gotten enough. “Oh, Kohaku, my beloved! You’re finally mine!”

“Wait! I told you to— I’ve had enough! Ah, I’m coming... I’m coming again!”

Throughout the seven days that his heat lasted, Kohaku was never once released from Seiryu’s arms, no matter how many times he begged for a respite. But Seiryu must have known the truth—after all, the fluffy tail wrapped around his body was a sure sign that Kohaku had never once actually wanted to be free of the pleasure Seiryu was giving him.

***

Once their heat and rut had ended, Seiryu and Kohaku could finally leave the room. The moment they did, they were greeted by rows of Dragon Clan members, who cheered in unison, “Congratulations, chieftain!”

Kohaku hadn’t expected them to be so accepting. He blinked a few times in confusion, then hissed in Seiryu’s ear, “Aren’t they angry that I became your mate?”

Though he had only intended for Seiryu to hear him, the members of the Dragon Clan reacted first.

“We would never be angry about such a thing!”

“Yes, it’s simply unthinkable!”

“Lord Kohaku, you’re the only one who can stop our chieftain when he goes on his rampages!” Their faces paled at that reminder before they continued. “We can’t thank you enough for stopping our chieftain when he went berserk.”

“Our chieftain has only ever had eyes for you, and he couldn’t control his temper when it came to matters involving you, Lord Kohaku. We were always so worried about him...”

“Lord Seiryu can be selfish and moody, but his love for you is genuine, so please don’t abandon him!”

This wasn’t what Kohaku had expected at all, and he tilted his head to the side. He’d prepared himself for the Dragon Clan to complain about someone like Kohaku becoming the mate of their wonderful chieftain. Instead, they were desperately trying to sell Seiryu to him.

“My, you all have such wonderful things to say about me,” Seiryu said.

“Eek!” The members of the Dragon Clan shrank back when they saw Seiryu.

Curious about why they reacted in such a way, Kohaku glanced up at Seiryu next to him. Seiryu was smiling down at him, and Kohaku tilted his head to the side once again. What was so scary about this expression?

“I-In any case, please take care of our chieftain for us!” a Dragon Clan member said.

Kohaku nodded. “A-All right. I’ll try my best to keep myself out of trouble.” He didn’t know what he could do to help, but now that he was Seiryu’s mate, he would do whatever they asked of him.

The members of the Dragon Clan breathed a sigh of relief and held hands in celebration. Kohaku still couldn’t understand their reactions, but he didn’t have time to ponder it because he suddenly heard a familiar, cheery voice.

“You can’t blame them for acting that way after seeing how much damage their chieftain caused.”

“Shunran?!” Kohaku exclaimed.

The Eagle Clan chieftain was walking toward them at a leisurely pace. He stopped in front of Seiryu and Kohaku and offered an elegant bow.

“My apologies, Lord Seiryu,” he said. “It seems I was a step behind.”

“I’ll take your report later,” Seiryu said.

“Of course.”

“Report? What are you two talking about?” Kohaku asked.

In lieu of a response, they gave him kind looks. Shunran smiled and said, “I heard you’re Lord Seiryu’s mate now. Congratulations, Kohaku.”

Kohaku grimaced and looked away. “Th-Thanks...” He had no idea what kind of expression he should make at times like this. Though he felt so embarrassed that he wanted to run away, having so many people celebrate his relationship with Seiryu wasn’t a bad feeling at all.

Shunran laughed and said, “Kohaku, is it just me, or have you become even more beautiful?”

“Shunran.” Seiryu’s voice was low.

“Oh dear. Lord Seiryu, no one likes narrow-minded men. I was just stating an objective fact.”

“In what universe would I be considered beautiful?” Kohaku scoffed. “Shunran, do you need to get your eyes checked?”

All the robes Seiryu had prepared for him were of the finest make, so Kohaku could understand if Shunran was praising his clothes. But Kohaku otherwise looked the same as usual. He wasn’t even in his transformed state, since Seiryu had insisted that he not reveal that form around other people.

Kohaku was giving Shunran an exasperated look when, oddly enough, Shunran and Seiryu sighed in unison.

“Lord Seiryu, you have your work cut out for you,” Shunran said.

“I welcome the extra trouble if it means I can have Kohaku at my side,” Seiryu replied.

“My goodness, aren’t you two cute.”

“What in the world are you two talking about?” Kohaku interrupted, pursing his lips. He didn’t appreciate being left out of their mutual understanding.

Seiryu enjoyed running his fingertips over Kohaku’s lips for a moment before he smiled and tilted his head to the side. “Don’t get mad.”

“You’re not playing fair.”

In response to Kohaku’s accusation, Seiryu chuckled. Seiryu’s idiosyncratic head tilts came from his knowledge that Kohaku had liked this gesture of his back when they were children. Kohaku had been under the impression that Seiryu acted this way around everybody, but he’d heard that this was just one of the many things Seiryu had been doing to try to garner even a scrap of Kohaku’s affection. It was strange, but with that knowledge, Seiryu’s habit of smiling and tilting his head became unbearably cute.

“Kohaku, we’re forgetting something important. Don’t you think Mashiro’s worried about you?” Seiryu asked.

“Oh, right! Mashiro!”

Kohaku’s thoughts quickly turned to Mashiro. With everything that had happened over the past few days, he hadn’t been able to give the boy any time or attention. Kohaku hurriedly looked around until he found Mashiro, who was staring at him with a furrowed brow, undoubtedly angry.

“Go on,” Seiryu said.

At his urging, Kohaku approached Mashiro. From behind him, he could hear Shunran mutter something about “what we discussed last time,” but Mashiro’s glare was so terrifying that Kohaku didn’t have the presence of mind to care about Shunran and Seiryu’s conversation.

“Um... Hi, I’m back?” Kohaku said when he got close enough to Mashiro.

Mashiro pouted. “‘I’m back,’ my butt. You completely forgot about me, didn’t you?”

“O-Of course I didn’t. There’s no way I could ever forge—” Kohaku stammered, his mind racing to come up with some sort of excuse. But he stopped speaking when Mashiro huffed out a small laugh.

“Just joking, Lord Kohaku. I’m glad that you found a mate.”

“Mashiro...”

“We don’t have to return to that old house anymore, right? We can stay here in this nice mansion and eat all the delicious food we want!”

“Now, look here...” Kohaku sighed as Mashiro spread his arms wide and celebrated with exaggerated delight. However, when he noticed the tears welling up in Mashiro’s eyes, he realized that Mashiro was simply putting up a strong front. Kohaku quickly pulled the boy into a tight hug. “Did I worry you?”

“Of course I didn’t. Lord Seiryu was with you, so I knew you would be all right. I’m just happy for you. You finally have someone who’ll be able to stay with you for the rest of your life—you’ll never be alone again!” Mashiro had thrown his arms around Kohaku as well, and he tightened his grip on Kohaku’s body.

Though Kohaku had thought of himself as Mashiro’s guardian, Mashiro had been the one taking care of him. He was still a child, but this entire time, he had never stopped worrying about Kohaku’s well-being.

“I want you to stay with me too,” Kohaku said.

“You don’t have to tell me twice! I’ll stick with you even when you’re sick of me!” Mashiro sniffled quietly before he pressed his face against Kohaku’s chest.

He’s wiping his nose on my robes, isn’t he? Kohaku thought. But with a wry smile, he figured there was no harm in allowing this.

“Oh, how troubling. Kohaku, I can’t believe you would cheat on me.” Seiryu had wrapped up his conversation with Shunran and was approaching the pair, making a show of arching his brow at them.

“Stop being ridiculous,” Kohaku replied.

“Mashiro, I’d love to give you more time with him, but we still have things to do,” Seiryu said. “Will you be all right on your own for a little while longer?”

“Without question, Lord Seiryu. You’ll be heading out now?”

“Yes. I can’t leave things as they are, after all.”

Kohaku didn’t know what they were talking about, so he asked, “Where are you going?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Seiryu answered. “I’m going to say hello to your father.”

Kohaku grimaced. Honestly, he didn’t want to return home, but now that he’d become Seiryu’s mate, he had an obligation to report that news.

“Let’s go,” Seiryu said.

Seiryu transformed into a dragon and flew Kohaku back to the White Tiger Clan’s village. He didn’t strike up a conversation, though he’d surely noticed that Kohaku had fallen silent. The moment they reached the village, Kohaku noticed something wrong. The stench of something burning assaulted his nose with each breath. Kohaku considered where this acrid smell could have been coming from, and when an idea struck him a moment later, he took off running.

“Kohaku!” He heard Seiryu calling out to him in surprise, but this was an emergency; he didn’t have time to pay his mate any mind.

Kohaku’s fears had become a reality. The sight that greeted his eyes when he reached his destination halted him in his tracks. He stood stock-still before collapsing to the ground.

“What’s the...?” Seiryu started, but he trailed off when he saw what Kohaku was staring at. “Is this your home?”

Kohaku could only nod mutely. They were standing before Kohaku’s house—no, at the spot where his house used to be. This was where he had spent every day since his youth. The building had been so old and dilapidated that it’d been difficult to describe it as a hospitable place to live. Even so, that ramshackle manor had been the only place Kohaku could call home.

And now, it was gone, reduced to burned bits of wood scattered all over the ground. His father must have been the one behind the arson. Everything, from their bed to the window Mashiro had clumsily tried to fix, was charred to ash.

“I knew you’d come back.”

Kohaku didn’t even have to turn around. He could always recognize his father’s voice. “Why did you burn this place?” he asked.

“I received news that you would marry Lord Seiryu. Therefore, you no longer have any need for a home here.”

Kohaku took a deep breath and finally voiced the question that had been eating at him his entire life—the one he could never muster the courage to ask his father. “Do you truly hate me that much?”

“The only woman I ever truly loved died because of you,” the chieftain replied. “She gave her life to give birth to you, and you ended up a useless failure who can’t even transform. Is there a reason I shouldn’t despise you?”

Kohaku’s hand, still pressed against the ground, balled into a fist. He didn’t care that dirt was digging under his fingernails.

He knew it—his father really did hate him. This wasn’t surprising, but the words still came as a shock.

“If that’s the case, then you should’ve thrown me out sooner!” Kohaku yelled. “Was there any need to collar me and keep me locked up in here?!”

“If I hadn’t collared you, then you would’ve killed me!”

Kohaku sucked in a sharp breath. Kill his father? The thought had never crossed his mind. He couldn’t help but laugh. I see now. So that’s how it was.

He touched the collar around his neck. He’d considered it to be the only thing connecting him to his father. It was something he’d deeply hated, but as long as he wore it, he could convince himself that his father needed him.

But the truth was completely different. His father had simply been afraid. He didn’t need Kohaku. As shocking as this revelation was, everything Kohaku had ever felt toward his father suddenly faded away.

I don’t even care anymore.

The cold air that had started to blow through the village helped clear his mind. He enjoyed the feeling of Seiryu’s anger slowly dominating the space—it proved that someone here would be angry on his behalf. Kohaku turned around to see Seiryu standing between him and his father.

“Chieftain of the White Tiger Clan,” Seiryu said. “I came here to report that your son and I are to be wed, but I appear to have had the wrong idea about you two.”

“What are you insinuating?”

“Well, if he isn’t your son, then there’s no need for me to say anything to you.” Seiryu’s expression was frigid, and his words were akin to sharp blades slicing through Kohaku’s father. “You’re the chieftain, and yet you foolishly allowed your emotions to blind you to the truth. Kohaku is a failure, you say? No. You’re the one who failed him.”

“I did? Ha. Your status as the chieftain of the Dragon Clan doesn’t give you the right to slander me.”

“Why do you believe Kohaku couldn’t transform?”

“Because he’s a failure! A failure who can’t transform despite the noble blood of the white tiger flowing through his veins!”

“Wrong. He couldn’t transform because he was terrified of how you would react. If he had, he would’ve been forced to face your true feelings about him. It would be one thing if you despised him only for his inability to transform, but what would’ve happened if he’d managed it, only to remain the target of your hatred? Should that have come to pass, then Kohaku would’ve truly been all alone in this world. It was this fear that stymied his ability to transform.”

“Enough of your baseless accusations! What proof do you have that he isn’t a failure?!”

Seiryu turned around to look at Kohaku. “Show him.”

At his urging, Kohaku transformed, and his father’s expression changed so dramatically that it was almost impressive.

“You little...! You were hiding your ability to transform this whole time?!”

“That’s not it,” Seiryu said. “Kohaku has only been able to do this since he became my mate. After he no longer needed to work for your love.” Both Kohaku and his father were taken aback at Seiryu’s words, but Seiryu wasn’t done. “You also did something that no beastfolk chieftain should ever do. You were the one who taught Karin how to break the seal on that demon, weren’t you?”

“Wh-What evidence do you have of that?!”

This was what people meant by letting the cat out of the bag. Kohaku hung his head. His father’s reaction told him everything, even if he didn’t want to know the truth.

“Shunran got it out of Karin,” Seiryu said. “You sent Karin to me during my rut and gave him clothes covered in Kohaku’s scent, didn’t you?”

“I only gave him the robes because that horny idiot was begging for them!”

Kohaku didn’t want to listen to this anymore. His father had lent Karin a hand because he’d wanted Kohaku’s arranged date with Seiryu to fail. He’d taught Karin how to unseal the demon and then summoned Kohaku to that spot...all to end his son’s life. Every one of these schemes stemmed from his father’s fear of Kohaku killing him. It was unbearably selfish.

“Ha ha... How ridiculous!” Tears welled up in Kohaku’s eyes and trickled down his cheeks. Had he really spent his entire life working to gain this man’s affection? He felt so stupid and pathetic.

“This man doesn’t deserve your love,” Seiryu said.

Kohaku nodded. “I agree.”

When he saw Kohaku stand, the chieftain took a fearful step back. “I knew it. You plan to kill me, don’t you?! You ungrateful brat!”

Though his father was shooting him a hateful glare, Kohaku’s heart remained calm. It was fine. Everything was fine. He didn’t need love from this man.

“I don’t need you,” he said, and his father froze. “You’re not even worth killing. I’ll be the one to disown you.”

These words were Kohaku’s farewell. Next to him, Seiryu patted his back, praising him for his courage. The warmth of his hand was a relief.

“Let me offer you a warning,” Seiryu said. “Kohaku is my mate now, and he will live in the Dragon Clan’s village—it just so happens that his house here is no longer available. If you do or say anything to hurt my mate, you’ll have me to answer to.”

“He may be your mate, but that doesn’t change the fact that Kohaku is part of the White Tiger Clan.” As long as the collar remained around Kohaku’s neck, he couldn’t disobey his father—that was what the chieftain was trying to imply.

But Seiryu touched the collar and chuckled. “You mean this? Did you seriously believe that you could use something so flimsy to control Kohaku’s entire life?”

“What are you—”

Seiryu gripped the collar. The contact triggered an incredibly loud zapping noise—blood gushed out of Seiryu’s hand.

“Stop!” Kohaku yelled. “It’s fine! You don’t have to do this!”

“It’s not fine,” Seiryu replied. “I’ll never forgive him for trying to control you.” Magic surged through his hand.

“Seiryu!”

The collar’s destruction was rather anticlimactic. It just snapped all of a sudden and fell to the ground with a dull thud. Kohaku could only stare down at it in disbelief. The shackle had been with him his whole life, and he’d never thought that breaking it would be so easy.

“It always feels so nice when you call my name,” Seiryu said. Blood still poured from his hand, and it must’ve hurt, but he was smiling at Kohaku so happily that it was as though he couldn’t feel his wound at all.

“You idiot!” Kohaku snapped. “This isn’t the time for your nonsense!”

“You’re more important to me than my hand. I love hearing the way you say my name.”

“I’ll say it as many times as you want! Just show me your injury!”

“Don’t worry. That shackle is designed to resist its wearer’s attempts to remove it. It’s quite fragile when it comes to external stimuli.”

“You knew that collar was a shackle?”

“If I’d known, I would’ve gotten rid of it long ago,” Seiryu murmured, his expression glum. He reached out to stroke Kohaku’s face, but when he noticed the blood coating his skin, he lowered his hand again. “You’ve worn it since you were a child, so I assumed it was a memento from your mother. I thought you didn’t take care of your looks because you had no interest in doing so, and I was even thankful that you never dressed up. I feel useless. Despite all the time I spent watching you, I didn’t know the first thing about you.”

“Enough, you dummy. It doesn’t matter.” Since Seiryu wouldn’t hug him, Kohaku threw himself into Seiryu’s arms. “From now on, you’ll treasure me enough to make up for my past, won’t you?”

“Of course. I’ll love you forever, even when you get sick of me.”

At some point, Kohaku’s father had slipped away. Now that Kohaku was free, his father must’ve been terrified that his son would seek revenge. A part of Kohaku’s mind relaxed when he left. He’d once wanted his father to love him, wishing for the ability to transform so he could attain that love. But he would set down all that baggage here and bury it. He was going to face forward and live for the future.

“Kohaku?”

And he would do so alongside this beautiful dragon who loved him more than anyone—the dragon he loved most in this world.

***

A few months later, Seiryu and Kohaku held a private wedding. This was at Kohaku’s request, as he didn’t want a big, fancy affair. Shunran, Mashiro, and the members of the Dragon Clan were in attendance. During the ceremony, with his loved ones surrounding him, the flowers around the village bloomed out of season, as if congratulating the newlyweds.

“Kohaku? I love you,” Seiryu said.

“Yes, yes. I know,” Kohaku replied.

The pair, in their matching wedding robes, were so sublime that stories about them were passed down through the village for generations.

Afterword

Hello, everyone! It’s Haru Sakura. This story came from me wanting to write something about a seme who can’t express his love through words. My editor came up with the setting of a Chinese fantasy, and I reached the end of this book after a lot of struggling. I hope you enjoyed watching their love come to fruition.

Kohaku, the uke, has a somewhat unbalanced personality. A part of him is rather mature—he avoids getting too involved with others and pretends he doesn’t notice certain things to avoid emotional hurt. However, his ignorance of sexual matters (because no one taught him about them) makes him childish too. I struggled to portray that part of him, and I got stuck writing that part about halfway through the story. But thanks to my editor’s advice, I somehow managed to finish.

As much as I’d like to discuss Seiryu here, it would be a story spoiler, so I can’t say much. I kind of feel bad for him, since he’s perceived as someone whose actions don’t match his words thanks to a certain incident in the past. He has his own reasons for his behavior, and because of those reasons, he’s put in a lot of work over the past three hundred years. I’m glad that at the very end, he found happiness.

Now, let’s talk about the side characters who showed up in this story. I love side characters and really had to rein in my tendency to write a lot about them. I hope that it’s not too obvious who my favorite is, ha ha. Incidentally, I like everyone in the Dragon Clan. They probably had to deal with Seiryu’s complaints and fanboying all those years. Seiryu’s bragging about Kohaku will only get worse, so I’m sure they’ll end up annoyed.

For this novel, Ciel—Ciel!—agreed to do the illustrations! When I saw the cover art, I was so emotional that I teared up. Don’t tell anyone, though. I’m so thankful that even the smallest details were illustrated. Thank you so much for the wonderful artwork!

To my editor: I’m so very grateful to you for always working with me until the very last minute. Every time I became unsure of how the story should go, your precise advice helped me write until the very end. I hope you will continue to work with me on future projects and that this experience didn’t sour you on our collaboration.

Lastly, thank you to my readers who made it all the way here. Nothing would make me happier than to hear that this story has added some joy to your everyday life. The world is always so busy. If there are happy times, there are painful, sad, or lonely times. But I hope that this book brightened up the precious hours you spent reading it.

I hope to see you in my next book!

December 2022

Haru Sakura