Chapter Sixty-Nine

Not Like the Other Girls

Part 2 of 3

 

 

"Hey," Abihiko rasped at him when they met early the next day in the front Izumo Shrine courtyard.

The courtyard buzzed with toned-down activity of the Fourth-years who knew nothing better to do while they waited than to chat with each other and drive each other insane with tall tales and scary stories of the previous Fourth Year exams in all their bloody glory. Which was ridiculous because every single teacher said this was one of the most guarded and observed events during School and that teachers and priests monitored each sector and each pupil's movements closely.

Plus, the actual evidence suggested that the students who failed -- merely... had to retake the exam again. Nobody devoured them, nobody beat them bloody, nobody sold their souls to the demons.

But of course it wouldn't be nearly as entertaining to talk about how mundane and well-managed this exam would be.

The day was still faint with mists, and brisk after the lingering nightly chill. Nekohiko shivered under his layers, but as soon as Abihiko came to stand beside him, all of his cold dissipated.

He swept his eyes low to where Abihiko's palm touched his forearm, sending waves of warm Hira spells of body heat through Nekohiko's skin.

"Don't," Nekohiko gasped. "We have to save our powers for the actual test. Don't spend them so early."

Abihiko only rolled his eyes. "It's just a tiny bit, who cares?"

The nearby classmates who heard him, gave him the shakes of their heads and the subtle pursing of their lips in derision. One of the more annoying boys Nekohiko rarely ever hanged around, Koki, even puffed air out of his mouth. "Showoff," he said under his breath. "As per usual, for the great Abihiko, master of elements."

A few others sniggered, too, and Nekohiko turned away from them. The best defense against school bullies was ignoring them. Then again, apparently, most people thought that Abihiko was the biggest bully of their year... He obviously only teased and taunted Nekohiko when they were together, but others received much greater offenses from him.

Understandably so.

While Abihiko was appreciated by teachers and some other choice students, most others either envied him or outright hated him. Nekohiko had become very used to Abihiko's loudness and his tall attitude and his affinity to cause havoc and steal the attention of every big gathering he was in. Above all, that he was an extremely talented Binder, way above his year and even some of the disciples in senior classes. But not everyone could be so lenient or accepting of Abihiko's persona.

Many simply united against it, and the venue they chose to attack him with had a lot to do with his adventures with other men and boys. Men, mostly.

Because, well... most of Abihiko's suitors were much older than himself. Some very much older. Not that Abihiko minded it, especially since these men were attractive, rich, and of noble birth. They could take him to famous establishments and introduced him to well-known singers, actors, and dancers. They could get him drinks and other fun treats from exotic lands. They could invite him to gambling parlors youths of his age weren't allowed to visit. A mere half a year ago, he had seemed to find such a lifestyle very appealing, for some reason.

But even though now, that had changed and Abihiko didn't waste his free time on such activities anymore, these rumors had stuck to him. And were often used by everyone who disliked him to try and poke him with those.

One of the words frequently flung at Abihiko's face was "slut", of course, so Nekohiko was well aware of its meaning. But any other, more obscure names still angered him. And thus, he didn't care if Abihiko responded to them with fighting or "bullying" of his own.

Yet perhaps not today?

Nekohiko took Abihiko by the hand and pulled him away from the snide-looking boys and toward the animated, whispery girls who were sharing plans on their strategies on how to pass the exam with the least worries. The gathering was merely waiting for the teachers to come and lead them to the spot in the wilderness where their exam would begin, but the growing tension of anticipation was getting higher the longer the wait.

The test was that of tall the typical hazards the future Spirit Wayfarers would meet in the wilds.

There would be tests from all the Great Lord powers!

There would be Demonic Spirits representing each Great House!

There would be normal animals assigned to each Lordship and plants to sort through and other landscape elements the children needed to guard against.

Yet Nekohiko wasn't too worried about the test and mostly worried about telling Abihiko the truth after it. What if... Abihiko would hate him for lying for so long?

Even now, as their hands were clasped tight within one another, Nekohiko felt how reluctant and stiff Abihiko's fingers were.

"How did you sleep? Well?" Nekohiko asked him. Something bothered him about Abihiko today.

Did it seem like Abihiko rasped a bit?

"Just a little under the weather," Abihiko replied.

Indeed, his voice had a rasp to it. And his general warmth was quite a bit more feverish than usual. Nekohiko lifted his hand to touch Abihiko's forehead, but Abihiko avoided it.

"Yes, I fell sick while I slept. What? It's not even a real illness, just a bit of a cold," he groused, smacking him aside. "Don't fuss. We're not allowed to cast high-level stuff before the exam, so I'm not healing myself yet. But once we're in the test, I'll just lift the fever off, and everything will be fine."

"But... why are you even sick? You looked so normal last night."

Abihiko sniffed with his stuffed nose and winced. "Last night was a bit chillier than usual, so I fell asleep without preparing any spells for the temperature drop. No big deal. All very fixable, all right?"

... Eh?

The dorms were warm and regulated for heat and drafts. Why would anyone need to set up their own spells against cold?

Unless they were sleeping outside!

"Wait, where did you sleep, again?"

"Shut up, the test is starting--" Abihiko hissed at him when all the nearby pupils stopped rustling in whispers and snapped their heads toward the Head Priest who went into the center of the square for the announcement.

Nekohiko stared at the boy beside him, instead.

He could not take his eyes even if he wanted.

Abihiko had usually slept with him in the same room. Or, by chances, with his numerous suitors in the town who obviously had very wonderful and warm inn quarters or even whole houses in Izumo. Two years ago, when the two of them had begun sleeping together, Abihiko had told him why...

Because he had refused to sleep in the boys' dorm room at all due to bullying and his inability to get along with their classmates.

So now, when Abihiko wasn't sleeping in Nekohiko's room and clearly wasn't sleeping with his nonexistent rich "boyfriends" anymore -- where did he sleep?

"You're sleeping outside, aren't you?" Nekohiko whispered, hushed. "I offered you yesterday to come back and sleep with me. But you... you went and slept outside on such a cold night and now you fell ill--"

"Neko."

Abihiko shot him a glare, then motioned his chin at all the sweet-looking classmate girls who stood beside them and now leaned in to listen, their cheeks subtly flushed.

"Your favorite person in the world is talking right this second, so be a good girl and listen to him"," Abihiko told him through teeth and flicked his hair as he rounded away.

Nekohiko stood by, bemused.

His favorite person in the world? Who?

Su-- Suminoe?

What the hell was Abihiko even talking about!

That said, Suminoe was speaking, and for a very prolonged time, monotonously reciting the rules and the precise order of the exam program the children would face. But most of it missed Nekohiko's ears.

All he could think of was Abihiko and the boy's utterly incomprehensible behavior.

Thus, when the exam finally began and each pupil or their chosen team leader was given directions for where they needed to go outside of Izumo Shrine, Nekohiko grabbed the note from Abihiko's hand without even asking him who the leader of their small two-person team was.

"I'll take care of it," Nekohiko told him. "If you're sick, you shouldn't be the leader of our team."

Irritated, Abihiko reached for the small piece of paper. "Hey, what if you go back into your dazed state of the last few weeks? I'm not sure vegetables can be leaders of the team during the exam."

Nekohiko dodged his limp attempt to take over the directions and tackled Abihiko's arms away.

"Yeah, and whose stellar tactical decisions led to you falling sick right before such an important event? Just because you're too ashamed to sleep with me all of a sudden?"

"I'm not ashamed of anything! I'll sleep with you right now if you want!"

"No, you won't! You've been avoiding me for months!"

"Give me the damn directions, Neko! Everyone is already left! We'll be the last ones!"

"We did not leave yet. Please go on," said a couple of girls from their class who stood a bit to the side. Watching them fight. Amused to the depths of their souls, apparently.

It was these girls and their unabashed curiosity that finally caused Nekohiko to give up fighting and toss the crumpled paper to Abihiko. Not like he cared who read the directions and who didn't. Out of the two of them, he knew he was the one to lead them to safety and to passing the exam successfully whatever happened.

If Abihiko was sick, if Abihiko was uncomfortable or ashamed deep inside, if Abihiko was too reluctant to admit the rift in their friendship -- no matter. Nekohiko would deal with all these issues. Whether Abihiko liked it or not.

 

 

---

***

 

"Neko!"

"What!"

Their exam so far had been rough. Not because the terrain was disadvantageous or because the weather was getting worse. Or because an occasional Demonic Spirit attacked them.

No.

This all sucked solely because Abihiko was grating on Nekohiko's nerves, and judging by Abihiko's own mood, Nekohiko reciprocated.

They had found the exact spot where their exam would start. It only took them a couple of hours' walk from Izumo to somewhere around the seashore mountains to the east, and they were there. Three years ago, Nekohiko had made almost exactly the same trip here when he first met Yakabe and Kazuragi. But so much had changed...

Even beyond the Sky Lords' tragedy, the terrain here had changed as well. Usually, the Fourth-Year exam took place in Nagare mountainous regions because of the forests, the lakes, the waterfalls, and the deep valleys peppering the landscape, which allowed for so many different Spirits to frequent there. But this year, the Nagare Lordship was not going to host the exam.

For... obvious reasons.

And Lord Kazuragi also wouldn't aid in the trials the pupils had to face. Some of his lower-tier Binding relatives would provide the Nagare powers for that.

And because of all these reasons, the place to host the exam had shifted from Nagare to Izumo. And the landscape of Izumo, so mundane and monotonous, had to be Bound into something else. Izumo's low hills had been turned by Suminoe into grand mountains with canyons and thick woods along the slopes. The small rivers around Izumo had been Bound into cold, vast mountainous lakes. The calm and serene plains and fields -- into a rocky desert. Of course only for the duration of the exam. But even this small feat was awe-inspiring.

A small two-hour trip from Izumo's Shrine gates had already taken Nekohiko and Abihiko into a whole another world -- so dark and deep the wood they had stepped into was, and so tall the distant, mist-tinged mountain peaks behind the pines.

All in all, impressive.

But the awestruck mood passed by fast when Abihiko had failed to lift his own cold and fever from himself and Nekohiko had needed to step in.

Why was Nekohiko so cranky about it now? Well, because Abihiko had slapped his hand away and refused to be healed by him.

For whatever dumb reason.

"Abihiko," Nekohiko had told him back then, barely keeping his temper in check. "Your pride won't die if you let me heal you."

"My pride? What does it have to do with my pride? I just don't think you should use your powers on something as banal as someone's cold. Don't waste your powers, please. They will have better uses than my fever, trust me."

"But I want to make you feel better--"

"Yeah, I feel great already." Abihiko turned, lips quirked down in annoyance. "Please don't make such a fuss about it. I'm stronger than you think."

Grrrrrrr.

"Abihiko!"

"Yes, Nekohiko?"

Luckily, this small argument had been stopped by the first Demonic Spirit that sprang up on the two of them shortly after they'd entered the thicket. An insignificant snake Spirit and all of its thousand tails that detached from it and tried to attack and eat the two boys as they pushed their way past them.

Not a big deal.

Then it had been a churning ground Spirit that had tried to swallow them up. Then the waterfall they had tried to gather water from had started spurning sulfur instead. Then the weather began acting out, steadily rising in both the heat and humidity. None of which helped with Nekohiko's ever-worsening mood.

And to boot, they had been losing their powers on all the Spirit exorcism and repelling they had to do about every half hour. Even if the Spirits were tiny like the occasional Mosquito Spirit attack, it still added up.

Perhaps Abihiko had been right about not wasting their powers on minutiae. It was only noon, and already, they both had begun feeling the oncoming creep of Binder's exhaustion in their limbs and minds.

They were doing something wrong with this whole exam, weren't they? No way would everyone have to pass it through so much fighting.

"Neko!" Abihiko yelled again when Nekohiko almost stepped into the Ant Spirit trap waiting for them on the ground. The boy jerked Nekohiko roughly by the hand and caught him when Nekohiko swayed. "When will you start looking where you're going, dummy!"

"You dummy," Nekohiko huffed, unglueing himself from where he had slammed chest-first into Abihiko.

And really, this was not an exaggeration. The rising heat and the wavy air in which humidify curled like the surges of cicada twang in the bushes -- all of it was slowly turning Nekohiko-the-person into a goopy puddle of Nekohiko-the-melted-blob.

This was not natural weather, obviously. Among all the Great Lord environment tests, this was the one from the Lady of Hisome, Takarashi.

Yep, five Great Lords -- five Great habitats of the Empire. And five Great natural disasters, or prides of the Empire as well.

The Nagare typhoons and thunderstorms.

The Towa tsunamis, or in case one was far from the coast like the boys were right now -- blizzards and monsoon rainstorms.

The Hisome humidity and heatwaves, and occasionally -- mists so thick, one could break their leg simply walking down a straight path, let alone here -- in a mountainous nowhere.

The Hira volcano eruptions (hopefully, not during this exam!) and earthquakes.

And the Utsuro... something?

Nobody knew what the last one was because the Lord of Utsuro, Sakai, never unleashed his environmental disasters on the Izumo pupils and was never asked to. But supposedly, there was a catastrophic event that represented the Utsuro as well. Nekohiko had always wondered what it was.

So far, they'd only encountered the Hisome souvenir for the poor Fourth-Years, but without doubt, all the other Lords would also show their catastrophic powers. Soon.

"I think we're doing the test wrongly," Nekohiko said, dizzy with the heatstroke.

"You think???"

Yet Abihiko didn't offer any suggestions, so him being sarcastic about it didn't help. Nekohiko gave him a tired side glance but realized that Abihiko was in a far worse condition than himself. He was sick, after all.

Gently, Nekohiko leaned him against the nearest tree and took a good look at Abihiko's face. "There's probably some spell restrictions against fixing the base qualities of the disciples' bodies in this place, you know," he told Abihiko. "So that we wouldn't cheat by making ourselves heat-immune, cold-resistant, unable to grow tired, and all that. So it's little wonder you and I can't heal you. But, guess what, there is another way to help you recover."

Abihiko's eyes, previously dull with boredom, suddenly sparked up. "Yes. Some way to cheat, right? You know how to?"

Nekohiko gave him a cold stare. "No."

He tore the nearest little plants he could reach and shook them into Abihiko's face. "I meant the normal way to heal somebody. Without magic! You know -- rest, nap, drink a lot of fluids, take medicine--"

Abihiko lost interest again. "What a grand way to pass the exam and prove our worth to everyone. By resting and drinking lots of fluids. Sure."

Argh, Nekohiko truly wanted to smack him now.

"The test is about passing it. We just have to survive in the place given to us for three days. Yes, it's about showing our skills, but mainly -- it's about showing that you know when not to use them. If you and I just go around magick-ing our way through everything, we will run out of our powers and would be forced to leave and fail the test. So, actually -- you know what we should do instead of going around and trying to find the Great Lords' Spirits to prove our worth? Pick out a small spot and dig ourselves a small earthen hut in it. And just surviving for three days. I bet most people do exactly that, so why shouldn't we?"

"But that's... depressing," Abihiko breathed. "There will be a ranking afterward and if all my achievements in this exam show up as 'slept a lot and drank a ton of fluids' -- I would commit ritual suicide from shame. Neko, that's not how I want to pass this stupid test. You and I... remember? We're actual Spirit Wayfarers who will go out and save people. How are you going to show your readiness to do that if all you do on this exam is nap in an earthen hut for three days?"

...

"You should have thought about this before you fell sick like a complete moron, then!"

Nekohiko wanted to storm away but through sheer will, kept himself where he was. Beside Abihiko. Gods, was this boy sometimes incredibly annoying...

"Why are you afraid to sleep with me now?" Nekohiko asked, his voice hollow. "Is it about that kiss? In Peaceful? We've never talked about it afterward, but perhaps we should?"

Abihiko's eyes fluttered open. His pale, ill complexion evoked a twinge of ache in Nekohiko's heart, but more so the avoidant, scared expression in Abihiko's eyes. And his utter refusal to speak even as Nekohiko waited.

"Do you like me... in the way you like other boys and men?" Nekohiko asked. "I mean, does it mean you want to kiss me again? Or to... touch me? Or other things...? And that is the reason you don't want to sleep with me nowadays?"

Carefully, Abihiko swallowed, his throat bump twitching under his collars. "Neko, you are my best friend. I would never bother you... Nevermind." Suddenly, he shook his head as though to stop thinking and focus on something else instead. He slapped the plants out of Nekohiko's hands and carefully turned his palms back and forth as though checking. "Don't be a dummy and grab unknown crap in this damned forest, Neko. It could be dangerous."

Nekohiko let him take his plants away. With his freed hands, he reached for Abihiko's and slowly twined their sweaty, dirty fingers together.

"You are my best friend, too. So, if you want to do some things to me... you may. I wouldn't be bothered by them too much," he said, not knowing himself what he meant.

He didn't want to be kissed or touched or fondled.

Every time he thought about these activities, he mainly felt bored or apathetic about them. When others did it in front of him, he had always felt annoyed instead.

The idea that one day, some of these activities would be done to him had never occurred to him. But since he had already kissed Abihiko twice... and nothing bad happened to him during or after that... perhaps, he wouldn't mind it if Abihiko did something else, too.

As long as he stopped acting like this.

Nekohiko hated so much this awkward, avoidant, unfamiliar attitude between the two of them. He wanted his best friend Abihiko back. Back in his room, back in his bed, back... in his life. If an occasional kiss was all it would take, then--

Fine. Why not?

Before Abihiko could protest again, Nekohiko bent down and planted a quick, brushing kiss on Abihiko's cheek.

Abihiko froze under his touch, eyes slowly drawing to meet Nekohiko's in shock.

Finding this whole interaction agreeable, Nekohiko landed another kiss on Abihiko's temple. And a more thoughtful, cautious one on Abihiko's ear as if only testing his limits and what Nekohiko could and couldn't allow himself to do.

Abihiko tensed up.

The skin on his jawline under Nekohiko's lips popped with goosebumps even in this terrible humid heat. With a quick breath sucked in through his lips, Abihiko shifted away from Nekohiko's proximity.

"What are you doing--" Abihiko started saying. "Neko, you don't have to."

"Yes, I do. How else would I know if we can?" Nekohiko studied his own reactions deep inside and found that they weren't a big bother to him. Actually, his lips burned where they had touched Abihiko's skin.

Yet it wasn't an unpleasant type of burn. It was... strange and altogether unused and unfamiliar. He would have to do more practical experiments to decide what his ultimate opinion about it all was.

But before delving into this kind of research...

"Come on, let's go and actually find a place to build a hut in," he said, pulling their twined hands up. He wasn't rushing, taking care to not yank on Abihiko too hard since the boy was sick. And so that Abihiko did not start yammering about his stupid glory conquests again, Nekohiko added, "We will have two more days tomorrow and after to claim our fame in the test. But before we do, we have to rest. And maybe nap. Yes, and drink lots of fluids and take lots of medicines."

Oddly enough, Abihiko did not argue anymore. He was tame, as tame as a silky kitty after Nekohiko's guiding hand.

"And just so you know, we will be sleeping in the same room tonight," Nekohiko told him as he tugged him forward through the tangled trees. "Because we have to ration our powers and I don't think we can handle more than a single-room hut in one go. But -- I won't go near you and won't touch you if you really hate it so much. You don't have to be afraid of me taking advantage of you."

For some reason, that made Abihiko chuckle, at last. "All right. Good to know."

Solemnly, Nekohiko nodded. "What else are best friends for?"

What, indeed?

 

 

---

***

 

 

Their hut was small but not under the ground and not made of earth. After searching for a very nitpicky while, the two boys had actually found a tree tall and wide enough that they could Bind it outward, spreading its trunk into a thin layer of a wooden surface in the shape of a dwelling. A separate door made of Bound-together twigs -- and bam! -- a place to rest and live in.

A cute, cozy home within this threatening, dangerous world. Just for the two of them.

Nekohiko had fluffed out the wooden bark floor with a softening spell and helped Abihiko lie down. But of course Abihiko refused to stay down and kept coming up with newer and newer ridiculous Binding spells he wanted to cast to make their hut more comfortable. He had already made the walls and the ceiling glow with scatters of starry pebbles, already started a circulating gust of cold wind inside, already worried about making it so that the surfaces stopped resembling bark and began resembling...

Silk separator screens inside elegant households?!

Nekohiko stopped in shock when he realized Abihiko was actually wasting his powers on such nothings. All while being so sick, too! Nekohiko had been outside, busying with gathering water from the humid air to put into the stone cup he had made for Abihiko -- but apparently, while he'd been gone, Abihiko was doing... this type of shit inside?

Abihiko cast him a sidelong glance dismissively. "If we're spending three days in this hovel, it better not look like an actual hovel."

"Drink this." Nekohiko shoved the cup into Abihiko's face. "A 'hovel', huh? How shallow can you be?"

"What's in it?" Abihiko crinkled up his nose, taking a whiff. "And I'm not shallow. I slept for months on the roofs of Izumo buildings with nothing but a small blanket on me. Not even a pillow. I can handle roughness. I can even handle cold and dirt, no big deal. What I can't handle is being trapped inside a fucking prison because my best friend says so. At least make my prison cell look presentable first."

Nekohiko still shook his head. "Is being with me in this place for three days a prison to you?"

Subtly, Abihiko narrowed his eyes over the cup's edge. "If you force me to sleep all the time and drink stuff like this then...  yeah? So what's in this cup, damn it?"

"Just a herbal tea with a kudzu root, ephedra, and wild ginger."

Ha-ha, all those years studying agriculture and the economics of herbal medicine cultivation had paid off!

Nekohiko gently pushed on the cup, tilting it to Abihiko's mouth. "Drink. You'll feel better."

"This shit tastes bitter as hell--"

With what he wanted to be a secretive smile, Nekohiko lifted a small golden bead of concentrated sweet nectar he'd Bound from the meadows of clovers he'd seen a few minutes away from here.

"Bitter first, sweet -- second," he whispered. "Now drink."

Abihiko gulped down the whole cup, wincing. "You sound extremely suggestive, did you know that?"

Uh?

But Abihiko smiled, leaning in to take the nectar bead out of Nekohiko's palm. "You are such an innocent girl, Neko. Not at all like the other girls our age. Most people who would force someone to sleep with them for several days, and to consume something bitter and promised to give them something sweet as a reward would usually mean a different kind of 'sweet'."

"Yes? Which one?"

"Nuh-hm. I'm not telling you. I actually like it that you have no idea. I was getting very much tired of the people who did."

...well, that was all very wonderful, but Nekohiko was genuinely intrigued now. He wanted to ask, but just then -- a terrible rumble shook the ground and the small tree hut top to bottom.

Inside the tree, they couldn't see what was going on outside, but Nekohiko could bet this was the shift from one famed weather trouble of their Empire to the next one. Judging by the thunderclashing resound and the way the outside darkened drastically in the thin sliver through which the fresh air came into the hut -- this was either the thunderstorm or one of the monsoon showers queued up to torment the Fourth-Years.

The already murky insides of the tree flickered with shadowy chaos of the tree branches outside swaying in a restless surge. The winds were rising, the flashes of lightning across the skies emphasized the grim darkness of the forest beneath. Then the first droplets of rain started striking the ground hollowly.

Nekohiko frowned, thinking.

What spells did they need to cast now to prepare for the absolute worst scenario, if so? Flood? A sudden bolt of lightning destroying their tree trunk? Ground muddying up and starting to melt away?

"See? No rest now," Abihiko told him, rising to his feet. "We have to protect our home first. I'm thinking... water-resistance from some of the water-lily pad waxy surface...? And maybe a hardening crystal formation on the ground around?"

With a sigh, Nekohiko also rose.

Abihiko was right. But it still didn't mean this was over. As soon as they were done fortifying their hut, back to the bed and to the medicines!

"--but above all," Abihiko told him, grinning as he stepped out to the air-vent gap in the tree trunk and Bound it outward like a small door through which they could exit, "it's a shower, Neko! Don't tell me you weren't horrified by the idea of sitting here, stinky and dirty for three whole days, after having sweated so much in the forest! I think even my clothes stink... Good thing we'll soak through the moment we step out. We'll come back much, much cleaner than we were before, right?"

Damn it, Abihiko.

You are sick, did you forget?! What are you doing, blabbering so happily all about getting soaked out there? This was a Binding test. So after a Towa rainstorm -- there would come a very obvious turn of the famed Towa coldsnap!

And what would Nekohiko do with him if all their clothes were wet and the freeze-over suddenly came?

Such thoughts kept him occupied for the entire time it took them to run around their pitiful hidden house and steal Bound aspects of resistance and crystallization from the surrounding objects. Abihiko was working very casually, very much in his element even though the downpour of all the water that existed in the world slapped and slashed him and Nekohiko during their efforts.

Water stuck Nekohiko's hair to his face and got in his eyes. It made his sodden clothes heavier and made running over the slick, clay-like ground all the more entertaining. And by "entertaining", he meant "tortuous", of course.

The grey, turbulent light of a stormy day was already drawing into a menacing hue of blue twilight, but the rainstorm still raged. At least, Nekohiko and Abihiko were finished taking care of their home outside and could now flee back into their prison-slash-sanctuary.

They were worn out to the extremes. Panting heavily due to the stress of tumbling and slipping on all the tangled roots and mud outside. Abihiko was squeezing water out of his long hair while Nekohiko was merely peeling his wet bangs off his face.

Suddenly, he sagged down to the floor of their hut, just from seeing how calm and cozy and quiet it was inside compared to the violent outside. All he wanted to do was to take all his wet clothes off and to dry them out with his Binding. Then cuddle back inside the warm fabric and maybe nap exactly where he sat right now.

He was just so tired...

And judging by Abihiko's looks as the boy trudged over to the other corner of the hut, so was he.

Abihiko tugged a thin layer of bark out of the wall to put up as a sort of a screen separator between him and Nekohiko. He shot Nekohiko a timid glance. "We can undress and dry our clothes like this. Don't worry -- I won't peek."

And, unexpectedly even to himself, Nekohiko blurted, "What if I want you to?"

He was tired in more ways than one, he realized. He was tired of lying, tired of being incapable of telling Abihiko the truth. How many opportunities had there been before when he could have told him everything at once?

Yet he'd never been able to.

He just didn't know the right words... or how to explain himself when the lie had been going for so many years already. Also, when had Nekohiko ever been good with words or complex social situations?

Abihiko turned to him, scowling, a ready rebuke on his lips. But Nekohiko was faster.

Clumsily, he pulled the strings of his robes off and peeled the sodden fabric off his shoulders, leaving only the thin and nearly transparent inner gown on himself.

"N-neko!" Abihiko swiveled away, his pale face so clearly searing up with crimson patches of flush, even though his fingers had already begun untying his own clothes a moment ago. "You... naughty girl, damn it! Warn people if you're gonna strip like that!"

Nekohiko went on, not caring to stop. If he stopped, he would never be able to tell him the truth.

Never. He knew it.

This was it.

The last layers of his inner robes fell limply to the floor. A shiver of utter vulnerability and transparency coursed through him. He had never felt so open, so uncovered, so... honest.

He had never allowed himself to be naked for more than a second when he slipped out of his clothes and into towels in the private bathing rooms in Izumo.

But now, standing here beside Abihiko who was turned away, hunched and rigid, Nekohiko felt oddly... unafraid.

The truth wasn't that scary, was it? Only lying to Abihiko for the rest of his life was.

"Abihiko...?" he asked, groggy.

"Mn," Abihiko said, nodding as though to himself. Slowly, his own hands began moving in front of his chest, undoing his ties and tugging his outer robes off his shoulders as well. As if finally decided what he was doing and why, he turned to Nekohiko.

No screen or separator between them.

"If you don't mind it, then I don't mind either," Abihiko started saying with a tentative smile on his lips.

But then, as his eyes swept across Nekohiko's uncovered body... that smile froze up.

And so did Abihiko's ever-widening, enormous eyes.

And so did his hands, half-busy pulling his clothes off.

Then finally, instead of his previous timid blush, a pallor of absolute confusion snapped over Abihiko's petrified face.

He saw it. All of Nekohiko.

...

This silence.

It lasted far too long to be normal, didn't it?

...

"...Abihiko?"