Chapter Ninety-Eight — The Reasons to Kiss You (3/3)
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Lol, in this chapter, they mention something about Abi apples and the cutting stems/grafting. I promise it is super important to the later plot, sorry if it sounds intimidating!

Essentially, cutting-stem for trees is like cloning. Hence why this will be important for later ^^. One example of such wide tree usage is the Granny Smith apple. In case you've ever eaten one, they came from the same exact tree or its clones. None of Granny Smiths are actual new trees or tree-babies of the original, which is super cool. The tree is literally immortal through its clones.

Abi apple in my story is actually a thin reference to Fuji apple which does come from the North of Utsuro Kingdom (or at least North of Tohoku, which = Utsuro Kingdom, lol). But unfortunately, Fuji apples aren't ALL clones of one tree in the real world. So when Abihiko says they are, he is talking about a made up version which is a cross between Fuji apple and Granny Smith, I guess ^^.

Also, buy and taste some Fuji apples when you have a chance ^^. Abihiko would be happy if you did.

Chapter Ninety-Eight

Reasons to Kiss You

Part 3 of 3

 

Nekohiko wondered if Abihiko wanted more. They'd spent a whole day in that inn below the mountains, doing nothing but cuddling and rolling around the room like dumb, newborn kittens. But today, Nekohiko could not help himself. He needed to go down and into the nearby town to get to civilization faster.

He had his Empire issues to attend to. Lazing whole days around and touching each other could definitely wait since he and Abihiko would have their entire lives to do that.

The Empire could not wait.

But Abihiko didn't complain. He followed Nekohiko, calm and thoughtful, and never said a word about postponing any of their other commitments further.

He understood Nekohiko's urges perfectly. Like a true best friend.

The only moment when Nekohiko was afraid of him raising another of the topics he was so scared of -- was when he and Abihiko were waiting in the line for the Binding vehicle shop to rent a snow-rider and get to the nearest city faster.

The two of them still wore the wreaths of the pine branches Nekohiko had Bound for them yesterday from the "flower bouquet" he had given Abihiko. It was a weird gesture, for them to wear wreaths for no reason, but it was pretty and smelled heavenly. So Nekohiko wanted to show them off, and Abihiko had agreed gladly.

With a sudden tender rush, Abihiko hugged him from the back and buried his nose in Nekohiko's shoulder. The needles of the pine wreath on Abihiko's head stung Nekohiko in his cheek, and Nekohiko flinched away.

"Ow, stop it," he chided.

"Sorry." Abihiko shifted his head so that no pine branches hurt Nekohiko anymore, but did not pull away from the hug.

He kept hugging Nekohiko from the back all the time it took for the small waiting queue to dissipate in front of the renting place. And though it was winter and the air was cold and ruthless, Nekohiko never once felt chilly during this wait.

Abihiko's heat and proximity dealt with it, including the boredom of standing in the middle of the snowed street, among the yawning, listless messengers and travelers.

It was only after they pulled apart that Nekohiko noticed something. The entire left half of Abihiko's face was scratched and red with a fine imprint of needles on his skin.

The wreath on Nekohiko's head!

By shifting his own head so that nothing about their hug worried Nekohiko, Abihiko's own face had to press against Nekohiko's needles instead. And yet had said nothing about it for the whole duration of the waiting line?

...

"Worth it," Abihiko told him when Nekohiko gave his scratched skin a flabbergasted look.

Then Abihiko grinned.

And Nekohiko instantly understood:

Ah, so he liked pain, didn't he? Some people really, really, liked pain in their romance and were even rather aroused by it. Huh.

Maybe Abihiko was exactly such a deranged, disgraceful person.

Pff.

"Pervert," Nekohiko slipped as he passed him on his way into the rental shop.

Abihiko caught him by the waist and walked on, leaning on Nekohiko heavily. "I am no pervert, but trust me -- being exposed to you for five years, I've learned to expect and even enjoy a few of your needles stinging."

"This is the first time my needles sting you," Nekohiko told him with a blank look at the wreath on Abihiko's head. "I have never given you any pine wreaths before, so there would be no needles of mine to sting you previously."

Seriously, Abihiko, pay attention.

...

In response, Abihiko only smiled wider.

Abrupt, he pushed Nekohiko toward the rental then broke off into a run in the other direction. "Wait for me once you buy the Bound sled, all right? I'll be only a moment!"

Nekohiko didn't question Abihiko's behavior whatsoever. Abihiko often abandoned him in big towns and villages to fetch something stupid from the stores and shops.

Thus, Nekohiko solely focused on procuring them their sled toward the next town. The deal was over very swiftly, and soon, Nekohiko was sitting all alone outside the rental shop, perched atop his new Bound sled, curled in all his layers. Waiting for Abihiko to return to him. His nose was chilly like an icicle from sitting in one spot for so long.

Which was making him rather cranky.

He couldn't tell if it was because the day was cold and he had gotten too used to Abihiko's warmth whenever they were near, or because Abihiko was doing something fun away from him.

What could that even be?

No doubt some gambling parlor or a toy store, Nekohiko thought pettily. The only things Abihiko had never been able to ignore wherever they went to. Ever since he'd been young and began frequenting these places along with...

Along with courtship and escort parlors.

Suddenly, Nekohiko's heart went much colder than his nose was.

A pang deep inside him made him swivel his head left and right in search of the unmistakable flicker of Abihiko's red winter cloak.

He Bound the sled's whereabouts to his wrist on a magical Leash, then hopped off it, decisive. He needed to find the other boy or--

--or he would worry himself raw imagining where he was and what he was doing. Not because Nekohiko was jealous or didn't trust him or anything else of the sort. Solely because... it hurt a little. He couldn't even explain where or why, but it hurt, and he wanted nothing more than to get rid of the building frustration and be with Abihiko again as fast as possible.

The streets of this small town were packed, for some reason. This was some backwater, yet people scurried back and forth even though Nekohiko didn't notice that many hawkers or vendors. This town didn't even care to sell anything, so small it was. And yet...

Unlike Abihiko, who of course HAD to wear a bright red winter cloak, most other Binders wore whatever thick and warm clothes on top that they could find. So Nekohiko didn't recognize them outright, but -- hey, these were all Spiritwayfarers here! Just like him and Abihiko, journeying through the lands in search for the hottest Spirit infestation places to visit. Chatting, waving at each other, asking for pointers in the nearby quest opportunities...

Making Nekohiko very, very uncomfortable.

Some of these Spiritwayfarers even had the red peeking in the sliver of winter clothes. So it was not a long while before one of them glimpsed him amidst the crowd and began staring at him with all might.

"Is that not Kitten!" an annoying girly voice cried, and Nekohiko tensed up.

Ugh. One of the Fifth-year Hisome girls.

Here? In such a backwater? Why?

"Also came here to witness the Descending of the Spirit Eagle on the top of the mountain tomorrow?" the girl called after him when he didn't stop.

And Nekohiko turned, dramatic.

...

What Spirit Eagle?

"It's a festival, we're all be drinking and cheering for it to alight tomorrow night! One of the biggest Wayfarer parties ever," another Hisome girl echoed even though Nekohiko clearly did not ask any questions.

The two Hisome girls approached him, their arms twined together. Their expressions were those of their usual condescension and superiority, but not to the extent as usual. Because, for whatever reasons, these two were alone now, and most Hisome girls only got truly cocky when there were more than five of them in one place at the same time.

Where was their favorite lady -- Sakami? Or her loyal hound-dog, Kiyoko?

"Soooo, you coming to the mountain tomorrow, or no?"

Nekohiko shrugged. He wanted Wayfaring experience. But a fighting or a spellcasting one. He did not care nearly as much about the social side of it, even though most Spiritway events across the Empire tended to be some festivals, celebrations, and parties.

It was fine. He usually ignored them and never felt he was missing out on anything truly meaningful.

"I have other stuff to do," he said coldly and wanted to walk away. But then...

"I bet Abihiko would die to come to one of such Spirit festivals, yeah?" one girl asked another, and they started giggling. "Come on, you know he would!"

"Totally!"

"I think I once heard him say that he'd do anything to get to the Spirit Eagle's Descent on the holy mountain, and that was like, two years ago!"

"I remember that too! Though he was pretty drunk by the time he said that..."

"Pffff-hahahahahaha!"

Despite himself, Nekohiko wanted to speak to the girls -- and ask them more.

Abihiko no doubt knew about this party, yet he had never said anything about it to Nekohiko? Why...? Did Abihiko not trust him at all?

"What is going to happen at that festival?" Nekohiko asked, wary.

"Oooooooh, so much stuff!" the two began, interrupting each other as they rattled -- so much that he missed most of what they were saying.

He ended up not listening to them, mostly concerned with Abihiko and his... needs.

How many of those had Abihiko sacrificed to please Nekohiko? And Nekohiko hadn't even realized that before now.

He felt terrible. Squirming, aching in his skin.

Yet the feeling quickly vanished, as it usually did.

Because something huffy and obnoxious and savage crashed into him from the side and pulled him into a hug that almost was a headlock. But it wasn't.

Abihiko was kind enough to him to not even headlock him lately. "What are you doing, silly?" he blared into Nekohiko's ear. "I told you to wait for me in the sled!"

"We were telling her that you would totally want to go to the Wayfaring party tomorrow, Abi!" one of the girls said with a shy chortle.

"I would?" Abihiko tilted his head. "Good that you told me, otherwise I would never have known."

Nekohiko wanted to roll his eyes.

"It's all right if you want to go," Nekohiko mumbled. "I was only talking to our classmates about the festiv--"

But before he could even finish, Abihiko caught his chin in his fingers and lifted it to himself so he could cover Nekohiko's mouth with his own.

And -- ah, he did.

He did, in front of everyone. Again!

Nekohiko wasn't high or drunk this time, so he did feel anguish surge up in him. But it was anguish of a different kind than he usually felt when Abihiko embarrassed him in front of others. This time, it wasn't shame at all.

It was a hidden joy at being thoroughly acknowledged by everyone in the world -- as the sole receiver of Abihiko's affections.

Because even though these were only a couple of Hisome girls, no doubt the news of what they saw right now would travel through them -- and to literally everyone in the world. Such was the fast Hisome girl gossip exchange.

It wasn't a deep kiss -- just a sweet and gentle peck, but Nekohiko reeled from it nonetheless. Good that he was in Abihiko's arms and would never fall.

"You two are disgusting," one of the Hisome girls told them. "Disgustingly sweet. My teeth rot just from looking at you two."

Abihiko curled in his lips, smiling at Nekohiko, utterly ignoring anyone else's existence. "Look what I got!"

In his hand, an apple with a small twig and one half-withered leaf at its end. A red, shiny apple.

Nekohiko gave it a frowning glance.

"Is this what you spent an hour looking for? Really? Oh wow."

"Wait till I explain to you why," Abihiko said, carelessly hugging Nekohiko with one arm and pulling him back down the street to where the rental Binding shop was.

No goodbye to the Hisome girls, not even a glance or a handwave to anyone who stilled across the street when they recognized Abihiko's searing-hot clothes. Out of the two of them, only Nekohiko was seemingly aware of the looks and curious thoughts directed at him and Abihiko.

He saw the familiar faces in the onlooker crowd even though he didn't care about their opinion. But it was nice, to profess his and Abihiko's deep friendship to everyone like that -- there was Juro, the boy from Abihiko's class, and -- yep, Sakami and Kiyoko coming out of the dining hall building.

But Abihiko was talking to him, so Nekohiko couldn't spare much of his attention to anyone else.

"...I found plenty of apples, actually, but this one is special. See? It has a leaf and a piece of a twig on it, so--"

Nekohiko listened, unsure of why Abihiko would be so excited about his apple having a twig. But just as Abihiko got to the grand twist in his speech--

...

Nekohiko heard something else.

Someone's words, spoken to another in a throwaway manner.

He didn't know the words' meaning since they were not in the Imperial tongue. These were foreign words. He'd heard this tongue sometimes in the big cities where there would be rare parlors and taverns owned by foreigners. But he had not heard this specific phrase before -- anywhere.

Other than--

Ah, that horrible, horrible night!

The night when Yakabe had been killed.

The person who had killed him and had almost killed Nekohiko was a Dark Sister named Nao. A foreigner. Who had spoken this very tongue when she had spared Nekohiko's life.

He still didn't know why she had shown him mercy. He had wondered if the reason had been in those words she had told to another Dark Sister as the two of them were leaving Nekohiko behind. But his memory was faulty. And he was more than sure he could not remember the exact words she had spoken -- or what they would even mean.

Yet now, here, of all places...

...he'd just heard the exact phrase that Nao woman had said.

He turned abruptly, his eyes roving the street for the traces of who had spoken it. With a quickened heartbeat, he found the person almost immediately because she was still speaking that foreign language.

Sakami, saying something very slowly and directly to Kiyoko and the other Hisome girls that were following them around. The girls giggled, palms to their mouths, while Sakami looked every bit a star student pronouncing a poem in front of an audience.

"Say something else, it sounds so funny," some girls prodded her on, and Sakami wanted to humor them.

But Nekohiko darted to her across the street. His expression must have been stormy and his advance -- menacing because all the girls quietened down at once.

Sakami's sweet face paled. She froze with her mouth half-opened and eyes wide in fear.

Nekohiko halted a bare inch away from grazing her with his cloak. "What language is this?" he demanded, his tone blank with urgency.

"It's... haaah..." Sakami breathed, unable to finish her words.

"What the hell are you doing, Kitten," Kiyoko snarled, stepping before Sakami as if to shield her from Nekohiko with her body.

"What language was this! Please!" Nekohiko cried, reaching out to Sakami as if to grab.

Whipping-fast, Kiyoko shot her hand to Nekohiko for a masterful push away -- but a fiery breath of heat surged into her from the side. A warning spell. Nothing major yet.

But Kiyoko still recoiled, heaving in disbelief at Abihiko's audacity.

"Careful. Don't you dare hit my girl," Abihiko sang to her sweetly and strolled over, hands in his pockets.

"Control your girl, if so!" Kiyoko spat.

Yet of course Nekohiko paid her no heed.

"Sakami, which land does this language come from and what were the words you just said? Do you know this language?" Nekohiko kept asking, desperate.

"It's the Land of the Morning Dew, across the sea," one of the side Hisome girls explained instead of Sakami. But she could not tell him the meaning of the words themselves. It was clear only Sakami knew what they meant, which was why her speaking a foreign language entertained the others so.

"I was merely... learning foreign tongues because of the diplomacy," Sakami told him meekly. "Everyone says it is important to... befriend the ambassadors and councilors from the other lands... for our Empire's glory..."

Gods, did he ask that?

He didn't give a damn why she learned foreign tongues! Likely, as all Hisomes, she was obsessed with courtly stuffs and talking to foreign diplomats.

But he hadn't asked about that at all!

"Repeat what you said last in that tongue," he said grimly.

"I--... haaah..."

"Sakami!" Nekohiko began flaming up, not even understanding why it caused such a great turmoil in him.

It had to be Abihiko who reached out to calm him down, hugging Nekohiko from the side by the waist. The touch was soothing, regardless. When Abihiko gave Sakami and the other Hisome girls an endearing smile like he always could -- Nekohiko even felt grateful for him being near.

"Just please say the last sentence again, will you?" Abihiko told Sakami in the most velvety voice.

And though Sakami was obviously mortified to be put on a spot like this, she also could not resist his charm. Her cheeks rosied up with a tender glow and she nodded, looking down at the street floor as she stammered out another string of the foreign words, like before.

Nekohiko jolted.

Yes!

He heard it again.

That same phrase--!

"Wait, wait," he blurted, then took care to repeat -- lamely -- the two words that interested him so. "What does this phrase mean? This small fragment?!"

"Huh?" Sakami fluttered eyelashes, as if watching Nekohiko in some sort of a trance. "Ah, that only means the 'Head Priest'. I was telling the others about my uncle, so..."

...

The Head Priest?

Nekohiko frowned, his thoughts racing, mind roiled.

Why would someone like that assassin, Nao, say something like the 'Head Priest' while she was sparing Nekohiko's life? Especially when she'd had such a clear shot at it?

The way it had looked to Nekohiko back then, it was as though...

This Nao woman had decided not to kill Nekohiko, but the other Dark Sister demanded to know why. And Nao answered...

The Head Priest... something.

There had been other words in that statement of hers, but not very many of them. It had been a rather short phrase, and if only Nekohiko could be absolutely sure this was what he had heard back then...

He'd believed he would die in that moment.

Of course he remembered the words Nao had said, very clearly. But he could not repeat these words even if he wanted because every time he tried, they escaped his attempts and he could not approximate what they had sounded like.

Only now, hearing someone else say it in front of him, he had been able to recognize.

And yet...

"Are you absolutely certain this is what it means?" he whispered, staring at Sakami with a maddened hope. "Are you not lying to me?"

The Head Priest.

...

Why?

Why would Nao say -- "The Head Priest" -- as a way of explaining to her accomplices why Nekohiko needed to be alive?

Something wasn't right about it. Nao had always wanted to kill him when he'd been younger.

She had made several attempts, too.

But on that night -- she hadn't...?

"M-mn." Sakami nodded, trembling. Her beautiful eyes flickered with worry as she studied Nekohiko's anguished face. "Is something wrong...? Forgive me, K-kit... Nekohime. Did I do something?"

"No," Nekohiko rasped. "No, it is not your fault. Probably mine. I cannot remember the exact phrasing so... I might be mistaking it for something else."

...true.

But also... why did the horrible suspicions and doubts worm so thoroughly inside his chest now?

"Memory spells are very nice to cast if you need to refresh your mind," Sakami told him, sweet. "Any Towa-experienced Binder can do it. It clears up any memory you have and you can even extract the exact words someone said years ago if you make sure to cast the spell correctly."

"Uh?"

Nekohiko hadn't expected Sakami to say something so meaningful and relevant with how useless the girl tended to be when she talked to others.

Yet now, she had just... given him a great idea.

"One can survive just fine without any Towa spells," Abihiko replied with a dismissive chuckle. He patted Nekohiko on the shoulder and pulled him away from the Hisome girls.

Dazed and deep in his thoughts, Nekohiko went. But he still glanced over his shoulder at Sakami and her entourage of gentle-looking girls at the entrance of a tavern. Other people shifted to and fro, yet Nekohiko could only see Sakami amidst all this blur.

Sakami smiled at him and waved. "Good luck with your memory," she called, soft. "I hope you will reclaim the missing pieces on your own, then!"

...

Nekohiko turned to where Abihiko was leading him, but his thoughts never left Sakami. And her words.

Both the foreign speak words.

And the well-wishes for him to manage to recall his painful memories of Yakabe's death -- without any magic used that would do it all for him.

Because, really -- his memory was only human. Was there even a way to retrieve information from it without resorting to Memory spell tricks?

Without resorting to using Towa magic? And if so -- then without him unlocking his third Great House seal? More so after Suminoe had always warned him he should not do that if he could avoid it?

 

 


***

 

 

"What are you thinking about?" Abihiko asked him once they were back in their sled already speeding away from the town and toward the nearest big city.

There, Nekohiko had wanted to take a Bound steed to rush it to Izumo to talk to Suminoe in person about Kazuragi's deal, or maybe to Nagare Lordship to accept his pledge of allegiance as soon as possible.

Although, now, Nekohiko wondered if he should direct all his attention to going to the Towa Ladyship instead.

And beg Hinokuma, the Lady of the Seas, to open up his Towa seal for him.

...

No! he told himself.

Stay focused. If there is something that makes you doubt Suminoe -- just ask Suminoe directly! Why make such a big deal out of it?

Stop overthinking this!

Stop! Enough!

With force, Nekohiko shook his head and gave Abihiko a weak smile. "Nothing. I was only worried about you not seeing that Eagle Festival or something..."

Abihiko made huge eyes. "Ah, that? Pfff, I have never really wanted to go see it. Drunk teenagers and Spirit Birds keening over the partying. Thaaaanks. Sounds great." He sat up straighter and fumbled with something behind his own back as though a secret prize he wanted to gift to Nekohiko.

"Neko, Neko, Neko!"

...

Nekohiko sighed. "Yes?"

"Look."

And Abihiko held up to him a wreath... made of apple branches?

Lost, Nekohiko blinked at it in confusion -- but it was nonetheless a real wreath made out of apple twigs! Bound together with a sort of an elasticizing spell to make the branches tangle into each other and form a beautiful flower crown. Fresh-green leaves decorated the branches, with buds and apple blossoms gently paling at the edges.

And all the while around them -- it was a desolate winter landscape, sailing by in a flurry of snowfall over the muted forest.

"Where... did you get apple branches in the middle of winter?" Nekohiko trailed his finger against the tender petals and almost gasped with joy. It was a real apple blossom! Not a Hisome illusion. This whole wreath was made of actual apple tree branches!

"That apple with the twig and a small leaf on it." Abihiko winked, then nodded at Nekohiko to take the pine branch crown off his head. The second pine wreath was still sitting atop Abihiko's head, and Abihiko did not look like he planned to take it off, which only made this ritual of exchanging wreaths of each of their favorite tree all the more significant.

Nekohiko took his off and gracefully accepted the apple branch crown.

It sat so beautifully against his hair, the gentle flowers kissing him in the forehead and temples, and the leaves tickling his ears.

"I just wanted an apple wreath from my home to be on your head, that was why I looked specifically for an apple with a leaf and a piece of a twig on it," Abihiko explained, matter-of-fact. "I could Bind a few new branches out of any apple in the world, really -- since they have seeds inside and I can quicken the growth of a new tree from those seeds. But... the seed would make it a whole different tree. And I wanted it to be the same tree that grows up in my family's orchards, you see. So I Bound these new branches out of the small twig fragment instead. And there you go. A wreathe from the same tree I helped nurture in my home when I was little."

Nekohiko cocked his head to the side.

"How do you know this apple came from the same exact tree? It could have come from any orchard in the Empire. Abi apples are popular, I don't doubt many have them in their gardens--"

"Nu-huh." Proud, Abihiko beamed as he leaned over to stare Nekohiko in the eye with a mischievous expression. "Not how this works, dummy. Do you not know that most apple trees, regardless of how far they are -- are the same tree?"

...

Eh?

"When people raise fruit-bearing trees, the new plants grown from seeds are their babies. But the fruit on them is usually not as good as on the parent tree. So -- instead of raising the new trees from the seeds, tree farmers cut off twigs and branches from the single parent tree. And then, they cultivate a new tree from the branch." Like a magician at the end of a marvelous performance, Abihiko waved a hand in the air. "And that tree ends up being the same exact tree because it came from the branch, not from a seed."

Nekohiko was very unclear what he was even hearing.

"Wait, what?" he said, disbelieving. "So all the Abi apples in the Empire is essentially... the same apple tree? Is that what you're saying?"

"Yep."

"But that's..." Nekohiko paused, hushed. "Amazing. Regardless of what happens to that one single tree, it is essentially immortal because of all the branches and offshoots."

Abihiko gave him a fond, lingering smile, slowly laying his head down on Nekohiko's shoulder. "It is immortal. That is why trees are so awesome. They will be here after you and I and everyone else we know -- will be long, long gone."

...

Nekohiko watched the snowy horizon in the distance and felt a strange shade of melancholy color his soul tranquil. Abihiko was right.

What did it matter to him what that Nao woman had said to another Dark Sister?

All of this would be gone anyway, and nothing of it would remain. Yakabe was gone already. The Usurper would one day be gone too, especially with Kazuragi's aid.

Why bother the past and dig in something potentially worrisome there?

...

The trees had it right. No bothers. No suspicious. No pain.

Only eternity and peace.

Nekohiko leaned his head against Abihiko's and the branches of their wreaths creaked against one another. It was only later that Nekohiko realized that the pine needles had shredded most of the tender apple flower petals upon touch. But for now, he didn't know, so he only felt happy, cuddling.

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