Chapter Forty-Eight

The Sweetest Dreams

 

Nekohiko stared, unable to manage his thoughts.

Suminoe. The person Nekohiko had always relied on the most. Not because he'd been close to him the most -- that place would have been Abihiko's. But because Suminoe always knew things. He always put the wellbeing of the Empire and of the Spirits at the top of his priorities. It was a quality he and Nekohiko shared so beautifully.

But then... Etsuko had said...

Suminoe.

The man who had planned your death months in advance.

And Nekohiko couldn't comprehend how this man -- his only father-figure -- could also be a schemer to have planned his assassination?

This concept simply didn't click together in his brain.

Ah well, it hadn't clicked for him for a long time that Abihiko slit his throat either, so... what did he know about people, really? Maybe every single person was a liar and a bastard deep inside?

Yet as he watched the Head Priest of Izumo -- tall, elegant, refined as always -- his mind tumbled back to those many times he had been so impressed and enchanted with Suminoe's presence. With his calm, soothing attitude. With his fatherly care for him and endless patience in explaining the way the Spirits worked.

And he simply couldn't believe what Etsuko had told him.

The woman had lied, he thought. She absolutely could have lied! She'd wanted to hurt him, to push him out of his comfort zone -- and with this, she had more than succeeded.

What could it be other than strategic lie to distress him?

Suminoe's face was so dear and familiar to him, the only answer to that question was -- nothing.

Nothing but lies. The Head Priest Suminoe would never betray him.

Abihiko stood silently, avoiding Suminoe's gaze. It was Kasuga who answered the man, simply because someone had to and Abihiko was clearly not going to.

"The Nagare towns of Fuji and Hamamatsu have been attacked by Towa forces. Nagare had to respond. Which resulted in a battle with the use of Binding of Spirits to harm each other."

Her phrasing was ambiguous, but the main point was there: battles and even fights between Binders were forbidden precisely because they would cause Spirits to be put in direct opposition to one another. Not humans. Harming Spirits by other Spirits was such a grave offense to the natural law of the Spiritway that the condescend tainted energy it left behind as an imprint would cause the Spiritside itself to rip and fray.

And when the Spiritside did that, it promised nothing good. Either for the humans in the vicinity, or the Spirits. It brought on the Binder's Corruption quite similar to what Abihiko was suffering from, curses, crazed Spirits turning into Demonic Spirits, humans starting to go insane or terribly ill, blight and rot upon the land...

It was situations like these that the Izumo Head Priest was responsible for alleviating. Of course, it was better to never allow such situations to arise in the first place. But once they happened, the Head Priest was the one to address them.

The law stated that people who started Binders' fights, especially on such a massive scale, would have to be put to extreme punishment by the council of all the Great Lords, the Emperor, and the Izumo Head Priest. No exceptions.

"Who was the first to begin the Binding attack?" Suminoe demanded rather than asked.

Kasuga spoke again. "Towas were the first. They took hostage the villages underneath Fuji with their avalanche formation, then used the opportunity to infiltrate the towns of Fuji and Hamamatsu. Nagare forces responded when nothing else could be done to free our people other than to cancel out the Towa magic..."

She spoke at length. Very methodically, without a single doubt marring her voice.

Abihiko watched the floor all this time, but Nekohiko felt he was merely hiding his gaze from Suminoe.

Why?

Because all through Kasuga's speech, Suminoe didn't look as though he was paying attention to her. All of Suminoe's focus, bizarrely, went to Abihiko.

The Head Priest's beautiful tapered eyes were narrowed just a bit -- a change that seemed subtle, but Nekohiko noticed it nonetheless. Simply because he had never seen Suminoe do this. And neither had he ever seen Suminoe look at someone with so much... loathing, so much hatred as he was giving to Abihiko.

Strange cold knifed through Nekohiko's heart.

What was happening? Why did it seem as though he wasn't recognizing Suminoe at all?

The man sounded the same, looked the same, behaved the same. Yet something about him... also felt wrong.

In the dark, black-glass filled room, Suminoe's white-clothes figure almost seemed ghostly. Surreal. Too many painful memories flowed back Nekohiko just from seeing him in this manner.

"So you began the Binding disaster first, Queen Kasuga," Suminoe interjected in the middle of Kasuga's pitch. "You were the attacker."

Kasuga stopped as though slapped.

"No, Your Holiness." Her voice was as hard as before but her breaths trembled just a little. She glanced at Kotone as if wondering if she misheard. "The Towa army had planted a trap--"

Suminoe turned away, deep disappointment in his features. "Kotone, summon the Spiritway Tribunal in Nara with the charge of War Crimes against the Empire."

Kotone's eyes, full of fear and doubt, lifted to the Head Priest's face, then flickered to Abihiko who was still no different from a statue in the middle of the room. "The defendant...?"

"Queen Kasuga of House Nagare."

Nekohiko balked at how deathly pale Kasuga became. She blinked at the floor, eyelashes trembling.

"I was only responding to a provocation by the enemy, Your Holiness," the girl began only to be cut off by the Head Priest.

"Towas didn't even have a pretense to attack you before you seized the Emperor's own family members to use as hostages in your wars! You wanted to unleash the Legendary Bizarre Beast Suzumegara upon your enemies! Even without all the other charges, using Suzumegara against the people of the Dragonfly Island Empire is punishable by death!"

The man flipped his sleeves with a resentful huff on his lips and turned away.

Kasuga took it as stoically as a true Legendary hero would, of which Nekohiko had never seen in real life. Only in stories. Without hesitating, without faltering, accepting of her fate. Kasuga was a perfect example of a hero.

"I understand," she said with a bow. "May I plea to postpone the Tribunal until the restoration of the Fuji region's Spiritside after the disastrous battle? I have to take care of my people before I am taken away from them. In case of my death, the new King of the Skies would not be able to have enough control of his powers to aid the Nagare citizens in recovery fast enough, and the blight resulting after today's battle would have festered far too long for him to handle. In this same manner, I also ask Hira Kingdom and Utsuro Kingdom for help in healing the region to prevent further damage."

Suminoe closed his eyes. A thin smile tugged one side of his lips. "...but not the help of Hisome Kingdom or Towa Queendom? Your 'care for your people' seems to end where your ego does."

This, Kasuga couldn't take. "Towas and Hisomes would doubtlessly use the chance to establish their Spiritual dominance in the region! I cannot allow that even under the guise of help--"

"And it is precisely this attitude that will be the main charge in the Tribunal, you will see, Your Majesty Kasuga of House Nagare," Suminoe promised her grimly. He turned to Kotone who was busy transcribing the entire conversation in glowscript onto a silk scroll in her hands. "Send messages to all the Great Lords and Ladies and ask for their Binders' help in relieving the Fuji Spiritside disaster."

"With all due respect, Your Holiness," Kasuga said. "No. Hisomes or Towas will not step a foot onto this land without my permission. In fact," she added, slightly more shaken in her delivery, "I wish to rescind my permission for you as well. Seeing as you are... a Hisome."

Suminoe's gaze had an unnerving quality because of how still and depthless it could be. But if before, Nekohiko had never seen him smile while staring at someone in this same eerie manner, now the heaviness of his eyes seemed tenfold. He finally understood what people had always meant when they called Suminoe inhuman.

It wasn't anything understandable or human looking out into the world through Suminoe's eyes. It was something eldritch, deep from the Spiritside, not unlike the stare that Suzumegara itself possessed.

It made Nekohiko squirm and want to flee.

Even Kasuga visibly drew back, and so did Abihiko.

But Abihiko also did something else. For the first time since he had come here, he spoke.

"But she didn't. Suzumegara never touched any people. She broke the Towa ice barrier and later an avalanche with Suzumegara, but that was it," he said in an oblique way as though not talking to anyone in particular. "People weren't touched by Suzumegara's attacks."

"There were plenty who had died because of the ice barrier's collapse--" Suminoe began, coolly.

"The collapse was caused by Suzumegara. Nevertheless, its attack never targeted any humans, so the accusation of the intent of Suzumegara's use against our people is moot," Abihiko went on.

For a short while, the silence was only broken by Kotone's rustly application of Binding runes onto the scroll.

"Capturing hostage the family members of the Supreme Divine Emperor has caused this entire mess to begin with." Majestically, Suminoe trailed his eyes from over the people he was castigating to the windows and the darkening skies outside. He clasped his hands behind his back and slowly paced, watching the window as he spoke. "Or do you mean to say that there was no intent to provoke the Towa-Hisome coalition with the abduction of your siblings, seeing as the Emperor's family is soon going to become Hisome's family as well?"

"Capturing hostage? That... must surely be some mistake, Your Holiness," Abihiko said. "Just a family visitation, nothing more."

Suminoe stopped.

Kotone wrinkled her brows as though unsure which words to put down in case she misheard. Even Kasuga gave Abihiko a lost look.

"...family visitation?" Suminoe asked much quieter.

Abihiko's firm nod gave Nekohiko a rush of emotion in his heart. He was too stunned for the entirety of this conversation, but now it seemed as though all his doubts were lifted.

Kasuga hadn't been faultless, of course. But not to the extent that she had to be punished by a death sentence! The Emperor had the final say regardless of all the laws in the land.

"The Nagare Family, as you probably have heard, sent their ambassadors to offer me her hand in marriage about a month ago."

"Yes, and you refused." Suminoe tilted his head in amusement. "That I also have heard."

"That is something that your nephew, King Morokata can tell you more about. Ever since that proposal, he seemed quite... pushy about my previous engagement with Lady Sakami and his... recent suggestive gifts and personal visits to me to further that engagement. But technically, I have never refused Her Majesty Kasuga's hand." Abihiko turned to Kasuga, whose face was only growing paler and eyes huger as she watched him in horror. "And since I do not mind, we can be considered a future family as well. Thus, my siblings staying in Nagare Castle is nothing but a family visitation."

Suminoe gave him and Kasuga a sour look.

"Unless, of course, Lady Sakami living in the Emerald Palace for the last two years can also be called a 'hostage capture', in which case..." Abihiko put a hand to his heart. "I'm terribly sorry about that. I hope King Morokata is not angry at me for seizing his Cousin in such a hostile manner."

In his side-eye, Nekohiko noted the eyebrow raised on Kotone's face and a cute little smile on her lips as she hurried to add every single word to the record.

Suminoe nodded very slowly, very fatherly. "I will make sure King Morokata is not angry with any such misunderstanding, Your Supreme Divine Majesty."

"On that note, then," Abihiko went on, lifting his finger up for further emphasis, "please, make sure he rethinks his methods of testing my devotion to his Cousin by setting up orgies in my Imperial chambers. I am a bachelor, yes, and soon to be married. But I am also very faithful to my future..." He gestured to Kasuga belatedly. "...wives. Please, Your Holiness. Do not let my honor be tried in such a lowly manner. What would sweet Lady Sakami and Queen Kasuga think of me if they find out about all those prostitutes King Morokata sends to me on a weekly basis?"

...

Kasuga's breath ran a bit faster now. Some greenish, rather than crimson, hue colored her face sickly. "Trust me, I... do not care about that, Your Supreme Divine Majesty."

"Call me Abiko, Kasu." Abihiko gave her a wink.

Suminoe sighed, immensely displeased.

And Nekohiko understood him.

Abihiko's behavior with Suminoe was almost sacrilegious. Nekohiko hadn't seen Abihiko be so flippant in front of anyone before. Usually, he managed to act like a mature person of high status. Yet, for some reason, before Suminoe, all of Abihiko's natural shamelessness came out.

Suminoe studied the two Majesties, then turned aside as though tired. "Kotone, since we are all soon to be related in here, summon all Great Houses of Hisome, Hira, and Towa to aid with the recovery of the Fuji-Hamamatsu area." To Kasuga's fast desire to protest, he gave her a blank look. "According to Our Supreme Divine Majesty, we are all one big family, is that not so? What is a little bit of friendly visitations between relatives?"

"I would kick out my own blood relatives if I wanted, and in fact, I have, on many occasions," Kasuga threw right back. "No matter how closely related, no Hisome or Towa will step a foot on my land without my permission. And I really do not remember permitting you, Your Holiness."

The conference was as good as finished after this. Kasuga left Suminoe an hour to do what he needed before he had to abandon the premises, and without waiting for anyone to follow her, she exited the room.

Though that still didn't stop Suminoe from summoning her to the Nara Spiritway Tribunal for the War Crime charges. It was only that Kasuga didn't care enough about it after her initial acceptance. The girl likely felt frustrated and wronged. She had many other things she was concerned with: the catastrophic state of her land after the Fuji battle being the most important.

Since there wasn't much to do now that Suminoe was forced to leave the castle, Abihiko left Suminoe alone soon after Kasuga. And once he got out of the conference room, he abandoned all his usual pretenses of high-minded behavior and darted down the corridor to catch up with Kasuga.

In the middle of a long, glassy corridor, she heard him and stopped. She seemed too preoccupied to handle him at the moment, so all she could do was give him a cold look and bow in usual politeness.

"Your Supreme Divine Majesty. I thank you for granting the Nagare Family the honor of being engaged with the Imperial bloodline. My family members will be ecstatic about this news..."

Abihiko gave the Nagare soldiers surrounding Kasuga a subtle shake of his head to have them step away. He beckoned Kasuga closer.

Warily, she let him take her to a secluded niche in the side of the corridor.

"I think you might have traitors inside your family," he told her once they were in the safe distance from the others. "Was the marriage proposal month ago -- your idea or was it someone else's?"

Kasuga frowned.

"You don't have to worry about our engagement," he said. "It's only an alliance, temporary at best. Plenty of Emperors and Great Lords never actually married people they were betrothed to. Take King Morokata and Queen Iokirihime. They've been engaged for... ten years, I think? I doubt they will ever get married, though. You and I won't have to be anything more than that either."

That finally let Kasuga sigh in relief. "I wanted to thank you for your support before the Head Priest. But I still don't understand what you meant about traitors in my family."

"This whole situation looks like a ruse from Hisomes to provoke. They only needed a reason to start acting out in a justified manner, which is what your initial proposal did." Abihiko sniffed, amused. "So I guess you can thank for this whole mess that one person who suggested you proposed to me, in the first place. That person does not have the Nagare Kingdom's interests at heart. And might even be paid by Hisomes."

Kasuga listened with her eyes ever growing bigger. Abihiko stepped out of the niche. "Do not worry. Hisomes will spend most of their next days being angry at me, not you. Take care of everything you need in that time, then I'm afraid we still have to get you to Nara for the Tribunal." He bowed to her curtly. "My Queen."

Abihiko's slowly strolled through the corridors going back to his chambers.

The long halls of Nagare Castle blurred before Nekohiko while his thoughts were far away. No new information came to Nekohiko to analyze and be shocked with during this languid walk. He merely digested what he'd already received from the conference room.

And apart from the uncanny feeling he had gotten from Suminoe, among all these new thoughts, Abihiko was the shiniest of all.

Nekohiko couldn't help himself. He... wasn't angry or mad at Abihiko when he saw him interact with others the way Abihiko had always done it. It was as though he was once again that same boy Nekohiko had always felt so close to. And this feeling made him ache all over.

He just couldn't hate him even though he knew he should.

And parts of him began trying to justify all of Abihiko's actions, no matter how vile. To explain them. To hope.

After all, someone had preserved Nekohiko's soul to put it into the tree. And on many occasions, Abihiko had acted as though he never perceived Nekohiko as a dead person.

So, was it such an outlandish idea that Abihiko... waited for him? Waited for him to come back? And that his "death" had been something else? Something easily-explained and dug through and untangled if Nekohiko only had a little bit more knowledge about it?

At the same time, he couldn't trust this man without learning more about him beforehand, either!

It was like an endless waiting game. A stalemate. It rendered Nekohiko paralyzed with confusion.

"Kotone!" Abihiko cried out when he glimpsed Kotone's greyish robes further away by one of the balconies leading outside.

For a moment, Abihiko just stood there, uncertain, but then Kotone gave him a wave of her hand and ran toward him. And seeing that, he broke into a run toward her as well.

Ah, he was so much taller than her now, it gave Nekohiko vertigo. Kotone jumped into Abihiko's embrace when they met midway. The two of them twirled in the hallway, hugging.

When she unglued herself from him, she immediately took hold of his cheeks with both her hands. "You are so skinny! How dare you starve yourself like that?"

Her face was, of course, slightly older than Nekohiko remembered it. More angular, less fresh, less rosy. A faint trace of fatigue clouded her eyes, but not her smile that gleamed as brightly as usual when she regarded Abihiko.

The sight of her warmed every last bit of Nekohiko's soul.

"What did he decide about the Tribunal?" Abihiko asked.

There was no need to specify whom he meant.

"The crime was committed, so the Tribunal has to happen," she told him evenly as though unsure of why this was even a question. "He is entirely right in summoning it. The Spiritside is truly in turmoil and we need to take care of it first and foremost."

Abihiko sucked on his teeth. "Damn it. I thought there might be a loophole of some sort I could abuse..."

With a disappointed sigh, Kotone smacked him on the shoulder. "Do not curse. And do not try to find loopholes. His Holiness is cruel but he is also just."

"Hisomes scheme all over the place and you know it," Abihiko said. "This whole incident has Morokata's imprint all over it, months in advance."

But Kotone only shrugged. "I do know that. But we, the Shrine people, do not care about human rights and wrongs. Alas. Only the crimes against the Spiritside matter. Do not tell me you expected it would be different."

"Ay..." Abihiko pushed Kotone away in the pettiest way imaginable. "You Spiritual people are more annoying the higher position you hold. It's like you completely forget how to be human after a while."

"I know. Sorry, that's just how Spiritside influence works," Kotone said, genuinely sounding apologetic. "Since His Holiness has left, I am in charge of handling the Spirit recovery in the region. So I guess we'll be seeing each other a lot from now on?"

Ah, yes!

Nekohiko wouldn't mind seeing Kotone more often!

In fact, after Suminoe had freaked him out so much, Kotone was the only person he would ever consider exposing his true identity to.

But Abihiko didn't seem as merry to this news.

"My siblings and I aren't staying," he said. "We leave for Nara tomorrow. The only way I can prepare the Tribunal for Kasuga's case is if I'm there when the councilors and other Kingdom representatives discuss it. Otherwise, the decision would sink all of Kasuga's chances at a fair trial. Plus, I have a... wedding to Sakami to care of, I guess," Abihiko said as though only now remembering.

"Oh! Well, we can work on Queen Kasuga's charge together right now if you're so inclined..."

Abihiko suppressed a mighty yawn, and Kotone's features softened.

She put the back of her hand to his forehead. "You really need to rest, don't you? You look terrible, Abihiko."

"I look amazing, as I always do. You're all just jealous."

Finally, Kotone couldn't help but chuckle heartily.

Instead of a goodbye, Abihiko held her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. He followed his Nagare convoy back to his rooms and once there --

Even Nekohiko wanted him to go to sleep as soon as possible. Such a lifestyle was brutal upon anyone, let alone someone he viewed as his...

...nemesis? Beloved? Murderer?

Or savior?

It was hard to tell, but all of these required Abihiko to actually stay alive long enough that Nekohiko could either take his proper revenge on him or... something else -- he hadn't yet decided what.

Sleep, Abihiko. Seriously, go to bed and sleep right this second! he wanted to snap at him.

Abruptly, there came a knock on the door from the outside.

"The esteemed Lords and Ladies of House Nagare wish to congratulate Your Supreme Divine Majesty with the engagement to Queen Kasuga and to welcome you in their family!" the ceremonial officer called him from beyond the door.

Abihiko's legs almost seemed to creak as he got to his feet from his relaxed crouch by the wall. But he stood up nonetheless. And reached to open the door. 

That made Nekohiko incredibly angry.

Was Abihiko seriously going to waste his life on answering every suggestion and demand somebody made on him? Stay down, Abihiko. Go to bed!

As if Abihiko ever listened to him...

More than that, this bastard then actually went out to socialize with all those scheming Nagare nobles. And this fact angered Nekohiko so much, he couldn't take it anymore and fled to Kataji instead.

He understood that, on some level, Abihiko might have wanted to evaluate which of the Nagare family members were colluding with Hisomes or some other behind-the-scenes political intrigue stuff. But Nekohiko had never had the taste for these sorts of activities. Heck, he could hardly distinguish one old and pampered Nagare auntie from another! And, predictably, the lavishly-decorated room into which the soldiers took Abihiko to talk to all the Nagare family members -- was brimming with those: aunties, grandfathers, grandkids, nephews, nieces, cousins galore. Everyone was so excited and clearly not at all bothered by the warzone hell that went outside the Castle's walls or the difficulties Kasuga faced while dealing with the aftermath of the battle.

The bratty, indulgent nobles, lounging on the couches and forcing desserts and alcohol on Abihiko as though their livelihood depended on it. Nekohiko could not stand them at all.

But apparently, Abihiko even knew some of these people on the first name basis and could engage in competent back-and-forth with them. Other times, he was acting supremely bored and apathetic as he drank his wine cups one after the other in the corner, but still took care to participate in all the conversations.

Nekohiko seethed.

But it wasn't as though Nekohiko could do anything about it. Fine. Whatever. If this was how Abihiko wanted to spend his time, so be it.

Distressed, Nekohiko went back to Kataji's dummy doll head to sulk and to ponder over all the grave connotations the Spiritway Tribunal would pose for Kasuga in the future.

And there was a lot to think about.

 

---

***

 

Kataji's room was still as bright and the rustle of his papers just as busy as always. 

"Care to do some fitting of the ball joints?"¹To remind you, they're talking about Ball-Jointed Dolls, only human sized, of course. It's one of these types -- , only with ball joints for every human joint, including every finger. Kataji asked him hopefully when Nekohiko reappeared in the human dummy.

Nekohiko trailed his gaze to the very smooth-looking, small wooden balls with tiny slits for switching the joints together that Kataji held in his hands. Then to all the finger and toe parts gathered on the desk.

"You think I'm ready for fitting in the joints?" he asked, stunned.

Kataji had told him so many times how pathetic and incompetent he was with making human dummies, and yet... look at all of these. Even haphazard, the dummy that sat on the chair opposite Kataji had a very distinct human shape. Nekohiko had no imagination to guess how it would look with all the muscle, fat, and skin grown on top of the wooden carcass, but he supposed the general form of the dummy was already... nearing its end?

"All the big parts are done, it's mainly the fitting, testing, resizing, resculpting and carving, and then polishing things up that's left." Kataji fumbled through the crumpled papers and schemas on his desk, searching for the one he wanted to show Nekohiko. "It's still a lot of work, but it's all just grinding. Mindless drudge. We can be done with it very soon, I think."

The paper he took out was less of a schema and more of a list with an insane amount of doodles on top.

Nekohiko narrowed his eyes to read.

It was a list of the recommendations from Master Metori about which woodworking and dummy-Binding shops were the best in Nara.

Binding shops in Nara!

The dummy-making stage was... almost over?

It was nearly time for the... Binding stage? Already?!

"The majority of stuff that's necessary for making a doll no longer would depend on me," Kataji mused, contemplating the list. "It's deciding upon the animal matter materials that would go into the top layers of your body, you see. And when we find the shop that satisfies our requirements..."

The pause was pregnant with anticipation.

Nekohiko gulped.

"How soon would you say that will happen?" he asked groggily.

"Once we're in Nara, I guess? I don't know..." Kataji put the list down and avoided looking at Nekohiko for a few moments. He seemed shy and awkward as though afraid to spook him.

Nekohiko took the first step if so. "Kataji, I can't believe all the work you've done for me--"

Visibly upset, Kataji put his palm up. "You'll thank me in person. Once you're an actual human body. All right? Before that, let's... not... please. Instead, can we just go and fit on these stupid damn balls already? It's kind of late, and you have more than seventy balls in your body!"

Seventy balls?

So many...

Intimidated, Nekohiko could only surrender.

 

---

***

 

The evening finally rolled into the night, and still, most parts of Nagare Castle and city were buzzing with activity. Aomi had found his cat and complained incessantly about the utter loss of the snake body. Nekohiko barely listened, too absorbed in watching the fires that lit up the night as Nagare Binders and newcomer Imperial and Hira Binders did their best to follow Kasuga's orders to restore the devastated land far beneath Suzumegara.

Was Kasuga asleep? He doubted that. Just like Abihiko, she had no real rest when her people were in such terrible circumstances. Nekohiko hadn't seen her at all in that bizarre gathering of Nagare nobles to which they had dragged Abihiko.

And if Kasuga hadn't ordered Abihiko to stay inside the castle, Nekohiko could swear Abihiko would also want to go aid her. He would do his best to help her manage and oversee the Spiritside investigation and recovery attempts, regardless of how exhausted he was.

Truly, if Nekohiko wasn't a mere broken cat dummy or a stupid seashell, he would want to help Kasuga, too.

After all, Binding together the torn Spiritside was an incredibly labor-intensive job. Like Suminoe had told him once, long ago: it was more of a cleaning up than anything else. A tedious, joyless work. But one that had to be done, and the sooner -- the better it was for the land, the Spirits, and the people living there.

But fortunately, Kasuga didn't allow Abihiko to leave the Castle. And so, once the aggravating party with the future Nagare relatives was over, Abihiko was once again in his rooms.

Once again, he was so close to his bed that Nekohiko almost wanted to yell at him.

Use it! Use your bed, for hell's sake!

And this time, Abihiko did exactly that.

Without even taking his clothes off and without washing up, he crashed face-first onto the would-be fluffy surface only to realize belatedly that this was a Nagare bed. So, of course, it wasn't quite as fluffy as he thought it would be.

The sound of the impact of his chest against the hard bed made Nekohiko wince. But Abihiko wasn't complaining.

He might have fallen asleep even before his head landed on the mattress.

Nestled safe and dark between Abihiko's throat and the bed's spread, Nekohiko's seashell listened to Abihiko's even breathing and his calm heartbeat. It was warm in here, maybe even hot due to Abihiko's illness. It was comfortable, too. It was... familiar?

The day had been long and the myriads of things that happened throughout it -- too turbulent for Nekohiko to be able to grasp them all at once. He didn't know how this happened, but he was falling asleep as well. So cozy, so heavenly. Almost as though returning back home after a lifelong journey and sleeping in the only bed that mattered.

His eyelids grew heavy and his own breathing synced up with Abihiko's.

And for the first time in ages, he didn't mind sleeping like this at all.

When, after an hour or so, Abihiko had had his first bout of nightmares that sped up his pulse and drenched him in cold sweat -- Nekohiko didn't even wake. As though on reflex, he reached out to Abihiko with his faint Binder's aura. Just to soothe him, just to tell him -- without words -- to go back to sleep and not worry about any nightmares for as long as Nekohiko was sleeping beside him.

But unlike the last time he'd done it that caused Abihiko's dreams to turn rather inappropriate -- tonight, something else happened.

Because even in his safe, serene dreams, Nekohiko felt that his aura was gently caressed in return.

By another Binder's aura.

Abihiko's Binding reacted to Nekohiko's even without them being awake. And the touch of it was so dear and nostalgic, like fuzzy warmth of sunlight on a drowsy, wintry day -- that Nekohiko didn't even reject it.

He embraced it.

...

...

When he opened his eyes, it hurt so much, he almost teared up. What was hurting? Oh, just having human eyesight did. Just having human breathing and heartbeat and the inexorable tension and weight of the human body.

His body hurt because, for now, he was once again human.

He had become so unused to it while being a tree.

His eyes brimmed with tears as he looked up into the nightly sky dappled with the glowing red maple leaves above him. He was lying on his back in the damp, luscious grass and the maple tree branches swayed above him with the tenderest of breezes.

Far off, the blasts of foreign fireworks sparked up and the local starburst Binding spells echoed them. Firework festival...? The dark, velvet-black sky lit up in shimmer that dissipated shortly, alive for no longer than a few heartbeats.

Nekohiko lifted his hand to rub his tears dry and was baffled to see he had a hand.

It was his own hand, pale and thin, his round nails with clumps of dirt under them from all the digging and weeding he liked doing in the back gardens of Izumo. Down his wrist, the beautiful fabric of a dark-purple sleeve slid heavily.

And with pain, Nekohiko recognized where this was and when.

This was a memory. From somewhere in his last, sixth year in Izumo. He was still human, of course. And he was still able to enjoy life and able to live free and unafraid of betrayals or heartbreak.

No. Wait.

Not a memory. Because he didn't remember anything like this. Red glowing maple leaves was a memory from the second year of Izumo, right before he and Abihiko dueled Morokata.

This fireworks festival night was... the fourth year. Right before Yakabe's horrible death.

Lying here in the grass at night somewhere around the back gardens was... the fifth year?

So many wonderful yet sad memories wrapped into one... what else could it possibly be?

This was a dream.

But why was he seeing it? He hadn't had any dreams as vivid and beautiful ever since he'd woken up into his life as a tree. Why was he here?

The grass beside him rustled, and he turned his head to see.

Alongside him, Abihiko lay. Face pale, eyes dark, he watched Nekohiko with the strangest expression. As though recognizing him, but unsure from where.

Slowly, he smiled.

And before Nekohiko could think or even act against it, he smiled at Abihiko back. He had no idea why. But dreams were generally weird, weren't they?

Many things were welcome here when they would be impossible in real life.

"This is a very weird dream," Abihiko whispered at him as though reading his mind.

"Yes, it is," Nekohiko murmured back.

In one desperate rush, Abihiko leaned in toward him. He put his trembling fingers on the side of Nekohiko's jaw. Gently, he lifted it up, reading every small change of Nekohiko's expression in his eyes.

But Nekohiko didn't show any change. He was only dreaming, after all, so all he could do was wait for this strange dream to go on.

Patiently wait.

"Well...?" he asked when Abihiko still didn't do anything, only watching him in a daze.

Abihiko's smile deepened.

Slowly, as though unsure, he dipped his head toward him and found Nekohiko's lips with his hot, yearning ones.