Chapter Hundred Thirteen — The Sacrifice (1/3)
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Chapter Hundred Thirteen

The Sacrifice

Part 1 of 3

 

 

 

Lord Kazuragi and Nekohiko shook hands to seal the agreement. And Nekohiko had never felt more anxious or lost, in a long while.

He had an army now. Officially. The Nagare army -- the bigger half of it that had split from the forces the Usurper had command over.

It wasn't much compared to all the Five Great Lord armies under the command of the Usurper, but... it was a start.

And with this army, Nekohiko had also accepted the marriage proposal. Kazuragi's daughter, a little girl named Kasuga.

Kazuragi said she was... resilient. And clever. And devoted. That she would make a great Empress because, like Nekohiko, Kasuga would be dedicated to nothing else but serving their Empire and its people.

That was what the Nagares were best at, anyway.

Putting their whole lives onto the altar of glory and honor for the Empire. Their sole passion, their greatest love of all.

Was that not something that aligned so well with Nekohiko's personality and goals?

...

Yes. But...

Nekohiko dithered when Kazuragi told him all this, as though advertising him Kasuga for a sale.

He raised his eyes and tried to find the man he had known for two years prior to this. And couldn't find him.

Kazuragi had... changed.

Gone were his tanned and sunburned flush, his carefree gaze and easy, albeit dismissive, smile. Gone were his haphazardly-done hair and disheveled clothes made from natural materials -- just to have some on his back. Never to show off or to intimidate with.

He was clad in the Nagare uniform now. The most restrictive, minimalistic kind. Black, not even adorned with feathers or epaulets as the prettiest Nagare uniforms were. His was pure black, militaristic, cold... more reminiscent of the glassy, unwelcoming surfaces of the Nagare castle.

Slightly sinister.

And apart from his clothes and the immaculately-done hair, even his expression and manner had transformed.

Before, when Nekohiko met him for the first time, Kazuragi had been reckless and impulsive. Devoted solely to what he considered the most important thing in his life.

His lover. His husband.

Yakabe.

But now, it was something else, yes?

The country. His Lordship. The people and... making sure Nekohiko married Kasuga, apparently.

As though the primary cause of Kazuragi's existence, his deepest core had been ripped out of his chest. Something he had been obsessed with for years, no longer there.

Only a hollow in its wake, and a hollow that needed filling. With some new obsession.

"We will win," Kazuragi told Nekohiko, his glassy-black eyes unmoving and eerie. "The Usurper will pay. For everything he did. Make no mistake about that."

...

The Usurper?

But Kazuragi's empty yet resolute gaze was so intense that Nekohiko didn't dare to ask. What did Usurper have to do with Kazuragi?

Why was Kazuragi viewing his and Nekohiko's fight against the Usurper as... the same fight?

"Yakabe," Suminoe told Nekohiko later, after the terse meeting with Kazuragi was finally over and Nekohiko and the Head Priest were walking down the Nagare castle council chambers to the outside.

"The reason why -- is Yakabe," Suminoe repeated, gentler.

Nekohiko watched him out of the corner of his eyes. "Lord Yakabe's death? And the Usurper? I don't... understand."

"Kazuragi didn't waste his time after Yakabe's death. He grieved. He grieved a long time. But he also murdered a lot of his relatives as a punishment for what had happened to Lord Yakabe," Suminoe said gravely.

Nekohiko shot him a horrified look.

"Murdered??"

Well, yes.

Yakabe's death had happened because of the conspiring between the Dark Sisters sent to assassinate Nekohiko and

Nagare nobles who wanted Yakabe out of the way. It had been a bizarre assassination attempt, more so because...

Nekohiko had been caught and trapped at the end of that fight. He had been at the complete mercy of his assassins.

Yet he hadn't been murdered. Only Yakabe had been.

To this day, Nekohiko didn't understand why.

"Yes. Kazuragi investigated everyone who had taken part in that situation and found several people guilty," Suminoe

said impassively. He nodded to the few Nagare guards they met in the hallway, but never cared to drop his tone or

acknowledge that he was talking about such a sensitive subject in the very Nagare castle. "His impulsivity led him to

kill several before investigating further or even finding proofs. You know how Nagare people's emotions can cloud

their minds..."

Stunned, Nekohiko walked on, not knowing what to say.

And this was his first official ally in the Civil War? His first powerful backer? Such a tempestuous person as Kazuragi?

With pain, his memory flashed back to that moment when Kazuragi almost murdered him and Abihiko in a fit of

rage after Yakabe's death.

...

Yeah...

What a great first ally Nekohiko now had.

"Because the assassination attempt at you was abused by the Nagare family and resulted in Yakabe's death, Kazuragi views the Usurper as his enemy," Suminoe concluded, just as calm. "He will do everything in his power to make him pay."

But, Nekohiko thought, if it was an assassination attempt -- how come am I alive while Yakabe is not?

And how come my assassins spared me, instead?

Something... didn't quite fit, did it?

And those words the Dark Sisters had uttered during that fight...

Nao, saying something about the Head Priest in her foreign tongue.

Nekohiko's gaze flitted over Suminoe. His elegant profile and majestic features. Nekohiko didn't know why his chest tightened and a tinge of fear crossed him as he observed Suminoe speak about Yakabe's death so indifferently.

Yet he couldn't bear to ask.

He averted his eyes. "Last time when I asked you about Yakabe's murder, you told me... it wasn't a big deal to the Empire or its Spirits," Nekohiko said. "That Yakabe's passing might as not be noticed by the Binding powers, and it fact... would benefit them in the long run."

Why did you have to sound so cold when you had said that?

The two of them finally arrived at the entrance of the castle. The dark nightly sky outside looked somehow pale compared to the pure black of the glasslike insides of the castle. The scatter of stars across the boundless sky only deepened the sensation of falling out from this restrictive place -- and into the beautiful void.

The wind billowed their clothes, and in the distance of the inner courtyard of the castle, Nekohiko saw that Abihiko was waiting for him there, amidst the Nagare officers and guards.

Nekohiko wanted to go to him, but Suminoe blocked his way.

His expression was solemn.

"You have to remember that certain losses end up serving the Empire, Nekohiko. Sometimes, losing something is not a mere defeat or a heartbreak. Sometimes, it is a sacrifice that has to be made to advance further. To win, in the end."

...

Nekohiko blinked, dubious.

Huh? Was Suminoe talking about Yakabe?

Yakabe -- a sacrifice?

"Choosing duty over love or affection is the mark of the true ruler," Suminoe said, quiet, and Nekohiko finally understood what he meant by this.

Abihiko.

Suminoe was only speaking to him about Abihiko after the engagement to Kasuga tonight. Abihiko still didn't know about it. And perhaps, didn't need to know.

He and Nekohiko were supposed to have fun tonight, visiting the Nagare's restaurants and sky parks and the air-boat racing event...

Why ruin the joyous mood with something so... dutiful?

And sacrificial?

"Sometimes we have to sacrifice those we cherish, to grow stronger." At last, Suminoe freed Nekohiko's path and nodded him to go on, now without him.

Nekohiko dithered, slow on the steps. He didn't manage to walk far before Suminoe told him something else -- something that stirred even more anguish in Nekohiko's heart without him understanding why.

"Wait for the news of the Towa coming to your aid, Nekohiko. It will not be long now." The Head Priest was already looking out into the skies, too deep in his thoughts to notice Nekohiko watching. "First Nagare, then Towas will follow. Then Hiras... An age-old pattern. First the heart, then the idle curiosity, then the ideology. 

"You only have to wait now, Nekohiko. Wait, and prepare to make some sacrifices."

...

"And to break some promises," Suminoe finished even lower.

Abihiko's carefree laughter sounded so heavenly in the echoing Nagare castle yard. It was free and mirthful and infectious. But unlike the others who joined in easily, Nekohiko found himself... unable to.

Not tonight, at least.

The entire evening, Nekohiko couldn't even look Abihiko in the eye, so much he ached at the idea and the realization:

That all his goals and his ambitions had finally converged and come to him. Just as promising as he had always imagined them to be.

And yet -- that he was also utterly and painfully unprepared to handle them.

 

 


***

 

The Nagare stay brought on a mixture of memories. A lot of them were so blissful that Nekohiko couldn't help but have fond associations with the taverns and inns and the smooth black glass of the Nagare buildings and its multicolored cobbled streets.

Him and Abihiko, complaining to each other about the hardness of the Nagare room floor beds. Them always Binding the mattresses to be softer. Nekohiko often wanting nothing else but to sleep all his nights away after the running around and all the tourism Abihiko was so obsessed with.

The magpie that he was, Abihiko just couldn't stop himself from wasting his time in the market districts or in the entertainment parlors. This sightseeing place, that shop, this exhibition, that stupid souvenir trinket to buy and argue with Nekohiko about.

They argued a lot about trinkets.

Abihiko had too many of them already. He didn't need any new ones!

But oh well, as if he would listen. Nekohiko suspected Abihiko bought some behind his back, so Nekohiko just sighed and let him.

At night, Nekohiko was too exhausted to do anything other than sag to the floor and cocoon himself into the blanket. Then sleep. It took him a while to realize that Abihiko might want something more. Something sensual.

But as always, Abihiko didn't ask him about it, shy or scared to pressure Nekohiko into it, and Nekohiko...

...wasn't in the mood for suggesting, lately.

The engagement to Kasuga and his eventual need to actually marry and fulfill his husbandly duties with her or any other person... Like an animal forced to mate because such was his Imperial "duty." It loomed over him like a grim pall.

So yep, lately, he was not in the mood for anything sexual, even with Abihiko.

Even the barest touch annoyed him nowadays. Even holding hands.

Nothing he could do about it.

In such an aimless and anxious mood, the winter deepened around them. The snows came all across the Empire, even in the southern Hisome reaches.

And with the first disputes and open fights between the Imperial forces and the "rebellious" Nagares with Kazuragi as their leader, came unrest. And worries. And the need for Nekohiko and Abihiko to get out of harm's way. As far as possible from all the turbulence.

It was odd, to hide. Nekohiko didn't even have a home to go back to -- and thus, the Usurper's forces had nowhere to focus on in their search for him.

Izumo? Izumo was in the Hisome Lordship, and Hisome was still on the Usurper's side, as loyal as ever. Hira? Towa? Utsuro? All strictly neutral and subservient to the Imperial law.

The closest thing to Nekohiko's whereabouts or his "home" was Nagare, really. So for the time being, Suminoe wanted him to be as far as possible from it because it would be the most obvious place to search for him there. No more active Wayfaring missions, no more traipsing all across the Empire, especially in deep winter. Somewhere out of sight, somewhere... safe.

To hibernate and to wait out the blizzard in the budding rebellion.

That place was...

Nara.

Ironically, yet true.

Nara was at the peak of its wintertime festivals and Lunar year celebrations. In Nara, war at the borders as though didn't exist. The capital, as always, preferred to ignore the trouble and to while it away with its opulent, frenetic lifestyle. Even the Towa news exchange buildings were closed or empty.

No news, in other words.

The Usurper controlled all the flow of the information in the main cities, and his orders were such -- that no mention of the unrest between the rebellious Nagare Lords and the Empire came through. There wasn't a rebellion. There wasn't any unrest.

Everything was fine.

Everything was as it was supposed to be.

Thus, Nara was perfect for hiding in. For an Emperor without a home or anywhere to go to? Where else to settle down in to wait out the harsh winter -- than the place closest to his enemy and therefore one that the enemy would naturally oversee?

"Suminoe is insane, I sometimes think," Abihiko told Nekohiko once the two of them came to Nara to find a place to stay in. "His plans are... so counterintuitive. So out there..."

"They seem to work, so far," Nekohiko replied, sullen.

The first thing he'd noticed when they came into Nara was the pull -- the draw. The unmistakable pull of the Spiritual energy -- toward the center of the city where the brilliant hue of Emerald emanated into the sky like a magical jewel. If Nekohiko shifted into the Spiritside, he knew -- he would see the colossal spire of the Emerald Fir Tree rising over the city.

Its splendid glow like nothing else in the whole world.

Nekohiko's own legacy Spirit. His family line's very heart.

But shifting to the Spiritside would call the unwanted attention to him, so of course he wouldn't. In fact, Suminoe's plan of them waiting the winter out in Nara involved the two of them never using their magic while here.

Not once.

For their safety and the sake of the Empire's future.

Which... sure. Why not. Nekohiko didn't mind. Abihiko might, but nobody forced him to be here, really.

So the other youth was also quite cranky at being in Nara, glowering at the city sprawled before them with the same intensity as Nekohiko. Yet apart from some inconsequential grumbling, he never complained about the plan.

Only about Suminoe.

"If you wanted a place to stay in, you know you can always come to Hira Okinaga's castle, right?" Abihiko complained. The two of them strolled down the wintery streets, digesting what they saw around them. The city bustled and was too crowded, too fast for Nekohiko's liking. Roaring laughter, the cacophony of music coming from each and every store and parlor they passed. The snow under their feet, Bound to never melt or clump into dirty clusters...

The Bound sleds zooming here and there in never-ending traffic.

No city or town before had ever been like this.

He was, frankly, traumatized.

"Or, even better -- come stay with my family North of Utsuro! In our family castle," Abihiko said proudly. "Did you know it is called Shiriya Castle because of how far it is into the Empire's northernmost border?"

...

Ah, another joke about the Shiriya Castle1Once again, it literally means "backside" or "butt", I suppose. Abihiko is a bit self-conscious about that, as you can imagine.. Abihiko only joked about it to stop others from doing that. But it was, on its own, also quite endearing.

Abihiko was tenderly vulnerable about the remoteness and the seeming insignificance of his family nest. But he didn't need to be. His family was perfect. He had two, in fact: both Hira and Abi families adored him and offered him a cozy home whenever he would need one.

Nekohiko didn't even have half of that. Not a home, neither a family.

Even this winter, Suminoe had told him to spend... anywhere he found comfortable for himself, in Nara. Any inn or rented place...

How personal, how welcoming. Any place he could pay for, huh.

Where could that be and why? How would he pick one compared to all the others? None of the places in Nara meant a single thing to him. Except for the Emerald Palace, and even that -- solely because he knew it was supposed to be his home.

Not because it felt like one.

"So, would you?" Abihiko asked him.

Nekohiko stopped. He'd spaced out again, deep in his conundrums, and missed the point. "Mmm?"

Abihiko inched his hand toward Nekohiko's. Sensitive and not in the mood, Nekohiko hid his hand in his sleeve, instead. Abihiko didn't show he noticed.

"Would you come with me to the Shiriya Castle? To spend time there together, you and I?"

"Suminoe said it might be dangerous," Nekohiko said. "If people know you and I would go there, they might... siege the Castle and... harm your home for me. It is so vulnerable to any sea attacks. I cannot let that happen."

"Pffff. With the backside of the Empire it is? Who would even go there?"

But he didn't push it.

It had to be clear how irritable and displaced Nekohiko was. How deeply in his concerns. Abihiko let him be and even picked the venue they could go to, for a quick meal. He wasn't as flamboyant about the souvenir shops or the toy stores they met around, doing his best not to aggravate Nekohiko more. So the choice of the restaurant to dine in was... extravagant, to substitute for that.

The Three Foxes.

The most fashionable and opulent restaurant in the capital. Even the Emperor's family sometimes chanced to come here. And who would have thought! -- it did, on the same exact day, too.

Not the Usurper, of course. Only a couple of his wives and their entourage of guards and maids. Seated on the third-floor balcony within the hidden niche as they dined, Nekohiko had a free view of everything that went on below. He saw how the Imperial wives arrived and were directed to the balcony lounge on the second floor. He saw how respected they were and how cherished by everyone who met them.

His gaze pinned into them even after they had disappeared into their dining niche as though he was enamored. Not even the performance of the flying dancers in the center stage of the restaurant could distract him.

Not even the delicious meals Abihiko had ordered.

It was good that Abihiko was too excited with the performance to take note of Nekohiko's pained attention on the Usurper's harem.

"Abihiko, have you ever thought about marriage? To a woman? Or several women? For... procreation purposes or political reasons?" Nekohiko asked him, quiet.

He picked at his pork pancake, utterly without appetite.

"Eeeh? Tch, no. Why would I?" Abihiko nearly choked on his cup of rice wine from indignation.

"Lord Kazuragi only agreed to support me if I marry his daughter, Kasuga," Nekohiko said.

He was unable to keep it in any longer.

Time they got clean about it.

"And I said yes. For the Nagare army he gave me."

...

The flute melody down below played its trills, but it still felt like heavy silence up here. Nekohiko glanced at Abihiko, worried.

Abihiko, though, only went on gulping from his cup as though nothing happened. But he did it for much longer than it took a normal person to drink.

"I see," he said after he finished.

"I don't want to." Nekohiko dropped his gaze. "I hate that I have to. If I could... I would just marry you. Not anyone else. Just so you know."

So that everyone knew you are mine and so that they would bow and prostrate themselves before you like they do for any Imperial spouses.

Under the table, Abihiko's hand found his and squeezed it so tightly and hotly, Nekohiko flinched in pain.

"All right," Abihiko said. "Marry me."

...

Wh-what?!

"I could bring the Hira army to you, too. I bet Lord Okinaga would support you anyway--"

"Abihiko--"

"Anything, for you," Abihiko said.

"The Hira army is not yours to give!"

"Well..." A shadow of doubt and some vague regret did cloud Abihiko's face for a moment. He studied the table before him with genuine sadness in his eyes. "Everything that I have is yours."

"Yeah?" Nekohiko squinted, suspicious. "Then why are you looking at this table so regretfully? Do not tell me you feel reluctant to share with me your own plates."

Some husband, that would make.

Yet Nekohiko had underestimated the intentions behind Abihiko's actions. Or overestimated, instead?

"I was so hungry and wanted to show off before that bossy waiter so much, that I'm afraid this is all the money we had with us," Abihiko said, biting his lip. "So... I mean, this is a great table and meal. But we don't have much beyond that. Not even to pay for a room or inn. I just realized it now, when you started talking about marriage...

"That doesn't make me seem like a good prospect for a husband, huh," he finished, thoughtful.

"..."

Dramatic, Nekohiko dropped Abihiko's hand.

"I am not paying out of our purse for this dinner," he hissed, clutching his money bag to himself and stashing it as far away from Abihiko on his seat. "This is what Suminoe gave us for the inn! How would you ever intend to pay the waiter if I hold all the money?"

"Eh." Abihiko shrugged carelessly. "I steal from you all the time. You rarely even notice--"

"!!!"

"And besides, I can always earn them back by gambling. You know I can cheat my way very easily in flower cards, right?"

"You are not making a great husband prospect right now," Nekohiko ground out. He threw an anxious look over the rows of the table niches on the floor, then at all the servers moving in the aisles.

Gods... what should they do now?! Return the meal?

Most of it had already been eaten!

Should they hide? Pretend they didn't understand the language? Should they beg the other patrons for money? How would they pay all this?!

But his budding panic only seemed to amuse Abihiko.

Abihiko leaned back, watching Nekohiko with an excited expression. A smile wandered over his lips. A smile of pure enjoyment.

It only made Nekohiko angrier, if anything.

"What!"

"Neko," Abihiko mouthed, playful. "What would you say if we... broke the law?"

...

"Just a little bit? Mmm?"

...

Yes, Abihiko.

As a potential husband, you...

...you...

"You suck," was all Nekohiko could tell him.

 

 


***

 

"I now know why you and I prefer to spend most of our time together in the wilderness. You have zero manners or respect for the civilized society!"

Nekohiko had never felt more terrified of the city constables than now. They were usually weak Binders and couldn't pose a threat to him even if they wanted. Plus, he was a law-abiding citizen, so why would he and they ever clash?!

But right now, running out of The Three Foxes' back exit like some petty thieves they were, Nekohiko realized just how scary city guards could be.

He could not cast magic here if he wanted to remain in the city!

But... would he even be able to remain in the city without any money?! Argh!

The two of them dashed through the backyard of the restaurant, jumping over the garbage piles in the corner and catching onto the fence wall. Even without magic, they had enough to manage. They had their martial arts training and reflexes, and they were young and agile.

They could definitely escape the restaurant and even weave through the alleyways behind it.

But it still didn't stop the pursuit of the restaurant guards and the constables they had called to their aid!

The outside was dark with blueing twilight and cold with the crisp winter air. The lights of the city shone so brightly, Nekohiko felt dizzy, running through the snow in an unfamiliar place. He only didn't lose his head because Abihiko dragged him by the hand.

Abihiko was just... so damn good at this.

Why? How come?!

And why co confident?

"They'll keep chasing, damn it," Abihiko spat, throwing glances back every once in a while. "Most usually drop off by now. Must be a really fancy place, then."

"Just how often do you run away from people who want money from you?!"

Abihiko left that without an answer. The two of them flew into a crowd of tipsy young people and toppled some of them into the snow. Cries and curses mingled in the music-filled air. In the resulting mess, Abihiko managed to shove Nekohiko sideways into the gap between the nearest buildings -- and there, he ripped the heavy winter cloak off Nekohiko's shoulders.

"What the hell--" Nekohiko wanted to snarl.

But it was another of the small maneuvers that Abihiko seemed so comfortable dealing with. In a graceful swoop, he turned the cloak inside out and dumped back onto Nekohiko. Instead of the grey fabric outside, now Nekohiko's cloak had a black lining facing up -- and it was as though he was a whole different person now, in the shifting street full of so many heavily-dressed people.

"Come on, slip into that alley there -- do not stand here like a dummy!"

On their way to the tiny corner between two streets, Abihiko did the same to his own cloak. His changed the bright red to the dark Hira brown of the inside, giving him a noticeably less splendid image.

But happy as he was, panting rapidly after their fast run -- he showed no grievance about having to wear a murky color now.

So happy, in fact, that instead of keeping running, he--

He lunged at Nekohiko, pinning him against the wall of a building.

Pressing him into it with his whole body. And delving into a deep, passionate, frustrated kiss that took all of Nekohiko's breath away.

"Ahhnnng!"

You... almost got us caught by the constables! And made me escape justice like a petty criminal!

And now you--

You! Do! This?!

Abihiko drowned all of Nekohiko's moans in his kiss and actually dared to put his hand into Nekohiko's cloak to...

Ah!

Nekohiko almost lurched away, so taken aback he felt at Abihiko's insolence that he had never before shown. But once he heard the heavy footsteps of the guards and constables rushing past them, he understood.

This was another maneuver. Another trick to escape the law enforcement pursuing them?

Since the constables were pursuing two running youths, encountering two young boys making out instead might just trick them into thinking they got the wrong guys.

And indeed. A couple of guards slowed down beside them and must have tried to get a good look at either Nekohiko or Abihiko, as though recognizing. But shameless as Abihiko was, he only deepened the kiss.

His tongue slipped in between Nekohiko's lips and lapped playfully at Nekohiko's own. While his hands were... doing way more indecent stuff down below.

All this wrenched another stunned moan out of Nekohiko, and that did its job.

The two dawdling guards hesitated, retreating. Abihiko chased them off even further, breaking away from Nekohiko's breathless mouth just long enough to tell him sultrily:

"I swear I am going to fuck you here right now, so cute you are."

...

...

...

"Get a room, you indecent brats," the guard blurted, stomping away with his buddy. "The modern youths have no shame whatsoever. Some refuse to pay for their meal, others snog at every corner like animals..."

"It's winter, too," the other echoed him. "Just how horny can a person be?"

Nekohiko heaved, watching Abihiko from up close as they waited for the guards to finally walk away. The blush on Abihiko's skin from the fast running and the fervent kissing. The exhilarated gleam in his eyes.

The way neither of them could catch a breath for a while now, even though they had remained still for a long time now.

Something about it all made Nekohiko so... happy.

For the first time since his and Kazuragi's deal a few weeks ago.

As though the whole mess with the engagement to a girl hadn't happened at all.

"Sorry. I was just saying it so that they left," Abihiko tried to tell him as he stepped away. "Don't be mad."

"I am not mad," Nekohiko said, unexpectedly even for himself. His hands clutched Abihiko's lapels, refusing to let him move aside. "I... liked it. The way you just were with me."

"Mmm?"

"You never are. So... direct. You never tell me you want me. You never say you want to... just fuck," Nekohiko forced out, feeling hot at something so dirty out of his mouth. "And I actually... want to hear you say it. And... more."

Snowflakes gently fluttered between them, settling on Abihiko's lashes and hair. Nekohiko reached out to brush them off.

And Abihiko caught his hand in his fingers.

His fingers trembled.

"Well, you are marrying someone else, so I am unsure how appropriate this is between me and you--"

Nekohiko rushed into a hug, slowly drawing him against himself. "Most appropriate. Trust me. Because I want to marry you much than I want anyone else. So can you... say that again? About you wanting to... do things to me?"

"Ah! Something so dirty? To my future husband? No, of course no! I am a gentleman, not a pervert."

For a moment, all Nekohiko wanted to do was to snort about it and keep hugging so that he might trick Abihiko into saying what he wanted to hear, one more time.

But then, he remembered.

"You made me into a criminal," Nekohiko said, grim. "All to keep our money--"

Wait.

Wait wait wait.

Frozen in some bizarre horror, Nekohiko checked his pockets and the folds of his cloak for the money purse he'd had with him, only to...

Not find any!?

...

Ahh... Spirits!

"We were running out of there so fast, I didn't grab the money bag," he realized in a choked voice. The back of his head banged hard against the wall behind him as he closed his eyes in dejection. Pained, he groaned. "Noooooooo... You... stupid--arggh!"

"Well, at least I am not the only one who messes up, huh," Abihiko said with a self-satisfied shrug.

Which only made Nekohiko that much more angry at him.

"Not only you made me into a criminal! But you also left me without any place to sleep in -- tonight. And in an unfamiliar city. You know that you're the worst husband prospect ever, right?"

Squinting, Abihiko gave him a very insufficiently-apologetic look. Then he even dared to smirk.

"I might have made you into a criminal. But please do not tell me I left you without any place to sleep in! You haven't even seen my true husbandly talents yet. Do you really think that I can get away from an expensive meal and the city guards -- but not get us a decent room for the night? Pfff."

Nekohiko wasn't very enticed or even hopeful at the idea. Abihiko shook his head, tugging him after himself down the alley.

"Come on. Learn to rely on me, Neko. Seriously, what kind of marriage would that make if you cannot even trust me?"

...

Nekohiko preferred to leave this without comment.

 

 

 


***

 

They found a small walled garden at the outer reaches of the central districts. Small manors and courtyard houses peppered the streets here, and Abihiko had dragged him on as though certain they would find a place for the night.

They did.

The garden was empty and unkempt. It hid a small one-storied house with barely three rooms in it -- with its shutters almost nailed, so tightly they were shut. But the biggest sign of abandonment was the snow, lying in piles atop the front porch. And on all the lanterns in the front garden. Especially the fresh and clear layers of snow right before the door.

Nobody lived here and nobody would care if somebody broke in for a brief sleep in the back rooms.

Right?

"We would pay the owner back tomorrow, after I earn some coins from the gambling parlor," Abihiko promised, sounding so carefree, Nekohiko didn't believe him. "Rest assured, Neko."

Nekohiko was too tired to argue with him. If Abihiko thought this was a valid way to mistreat Nekohiko's royal subjects and abuse their leniency...

Then, sure.

Also, this was a place for the night, so not like Nekohiko would refuse a more or less warm room away from the weathers and the nightly liveliness of the capital.

The snow was falling outside, its patter so sweet and tender over the wooden boards of the shutters and the sills. The faint light of the moon trickled through the slits in the shutters, limning out a small but cozy little room at the west wing of the house. The wooden floor creaked under Abihiko's weight as he strode around the room, clogging the windows and the door gaps with cloths he'd found in the room's baskets and chests to stave off the draft.

They'd broken in with Abihiko's lockpicking ability Nekohiko had never even suspected he had, so their presence here was very quiet and unassuming.

All in all, as Nekohiko watched Abihiko go around the room, making the place a bit warmer for their stay -- he thought that... perhaps, Abihiko wasn't that bad of a potential spouse.

He was resourceful and he was caring. Enough, at least, to provide for them both when all hope seemed lost and Nekohiko had started panicking.

Maybe he should rely on him more. Absolutely should.

These thoughts swarmed in his mind even as they lay down to sleep, cuddling close in all the wintery cloaks to keep them warm through the night. And when Abihiko finally hugged him close, preparing for sleep, Nekohiko found himself unable to let it go just as simply.

Something they hadn't resolved yet, tonight.

"You said you would... fuck me," Nekohiko told him, trembling with how alien such a rude word sounded. He shuddered, but it was a shudder of pleasure, too. Especially when Abihiko raised his head to give him a heavy stare.

Loudly, Nekohiko swallowed.

"So, will you?"

Their breaths silvered in the dark night. It was cold here, even under all the blankets. But with Abihiko's heat so close against him...

"All right," Abihiko murmured, his eyes narrowing. "But since you beg me so nicely--"

"I am not begging you."

I demand it.

As the Emperor would, you lowlife.

"Prepare. to. have. all your innocence. shattered," Abihiko growled at him in a mock-feral manner. 

Nekohiko didn't know if it was supposed to be intimidating or enticing.

He decided it was... adorable, instead, so he gave Abihiko his most open smile. As if inviting him to go on. Which Abihiko did, after a brief yet warm kiss upon Nekohiko's lips.

"It won't be much. But since... you only let me touch it with my hands and almost never to undress you--" Abihiko began, sliding down Nekohiko's chest.

"No undressing! It's too cold and I am not ready for that yet," Nekohiko gasped.

Even the idea of either of their bodies touching so fully... without anything to protect their skin from such an intimate contact! Nekohiko couldn't handle it well, and Abihiko no doubt knew that.

They had never really done anything more than what they'd tried while traveling in the mountains a month ago. Nekohiko found that comfortable enough. He was curious about more in-depth research of what young couples did to each other, but only if it didn't spook him too much.

He was only learning. Luckily, Abihiko understood.

"You can keep your clothes, don't worry." Matter-of-fact, Abihiko sat up, fishing out the hair ribbon he'd taken off before going to bed. His motions were very quick and smooth as he gathered all his unruly hair back from his face and tied it into his high ponytail again.

Nekohiko gazed at him, intrigued. "What are you doing? Why are you taking your hair off your face? It's very pretty when you have it down, too..."

"Because I need it like this." His pearly-white teeth bit into his lower lip, so red, the contrast between them mesmerized Nekohiko. Then, suggestive, he licked his teeth with his tongue as though implying something...

Something...

Before Nekohiko could add any other word, Abihiko pressed his palm against Nekohiko's chest and pushed him down on the floor. Himself, Abihiko remained sitting, but only for a few moments. Because once he made sure Nekohiko was lying tame and confused below him, he bent down above Nekohiko's lower torso, pulled apart the folds of Nekohiko's inner robes and--

"Mmmnnnaaa," Nekohiko breathed, caught completely off guard.

This... sensation --

It could not possibly be!

"Are you serious?!" he cried, peering down at Abihiko's shameless face that looked up at him in a perfect image of innocence. "Is this what people actually do to each other during...? That is so--"

Mmmmm, groundbreaking?

Nekohiko struggled to describe his opinion on the topic.

Which only filled Abihiko with more joy. "You like it? I think you do, huh."

He did.

He was very much intrigued and absorbed by the mysterious actions Abihiko wanted to keep doing, but none of that mattered. Because, contrary to their expectations -- the house wasn't actually abandoned.

Not even a little bit.

The house belonged to a very old and bitter lady who was so tired of life, she seldom went out the house's door. Especially in such a harsh season as this one. And while she usually had quite a heavy, peaceful sleep at night in her bedroom, Nekohiko's moans and cries of shock had woken her up. And brought her into this side room at exactly this moment.

And boy, the old lady was not at all appreciative of what she saw inside!

...

Two young boys, one lying back, one doing something very suspicious around the other's lower body area.

Yep.

"Burglars! Robbers! Thieves!" A crowing scream jolted both Nekohiko and Abihiko out of their intimate moment. As though struck, Nekohiko froze over while Anihiko jolted up from his indecent activity.

The lady was dressed in her inner garments complete with a woolen shawl over her frail shoulders. Squinting blearily into the room, she held out a cane in one hand, shaking it as though intending to smack anyone who dared offend her. Honestly, she looked quite scary.

And very, very indignant, too.

"Whatcha think you're doing here, robbing the poor old woman blind! I will show ya, you little bastards!"

In the span of seconds, Abihiko tried to flee, then realized he should protect Nekohiko instead. So he stilled where he was, unable to decide on the exact action because the lady's grouching did change its tune once she took a good look at the two of them.

Half-undressed, very flustered, and not at all looking like they wanted to rob or take anything from the room they were in.

She scanned Nekohiko's disarrayed image and the pose in which the two youths had just been in.

And instead of screaming more or shaking her cane at them, she could only gasp, appalled.

"You... desecrate this old woman's house like that? You... perverted little--"

"I swear we will pay for the room here!" Abihiko cried out, arms raised to show he didn't have weapons in them. "This is just for one night -- we had nowhere to sleep in!"

Nekohiko curled inward, hiding his improper places from the lady's scornful gaze.

"One night? After what you did to this pure and innocent room?!" The old lady shook her head in disbelief. By now, she had shifted from being scared by their presence to being offended at their behavior, instead.

"Two nights," Abihiko begged, mortified.

"We can pay," Nekohiko echoed him. "Please trust us."

"You think money can buy everything, huh. Even decency, perhaps!"

"No-no-no! But... it certainly can't be too bad, right?" Abihiko attempted to put on a suave manner and gave the old lady his most charming smile. If only he wasn't half-naked doing it... "I mean, you wouldn't kick two gorgeous young men out into the cold wintery night like this, would you? Especially when these young men can pay for their stay and even help you fix that broken porch step or the flimsy rafter beam in the corner. Mmmm?"

Please, please, please, his mien and hands in a praying position said.

But the lady, old and bent and frail as she looked, wasn't so easy to subdue. She cocked her head, studying the two of them in her unused, cold and empty room -- then looked at the sliver of the night sky outside in the window shutter.

An expression of disdain mixed with a touch of magnanimous pity in her prune-like face when she struck out a hand, palm open -- to Abihiko.

"We'll see. But money upfront, little liar. Or you both get outta here faster than a Bound ass-whopper."

...

"Money, hm," Abihiko drawled, sounding nervous yet businesslike all the same. "About that..."

...

They still didn't have any. Which prompted a very, very long discussion with the old lady in which Abihiko finally managed to haggle for a truly bizarre deal:

He had to earn that money back tomorrow. And pay for their stay here. However long that stay needed to be for them to properly pay off their grievous debt to this heartbroken old woman.

All while Nekohiko would remain in the house as a hostage.

Yes, a hostage.

And also a servant, apparently, because the old lady's lantern and rafter beam and the porch step did need fixing, and he better do that for her tomorrow or else --

...

Or else, nothing.

Because neither Nekohiko nor Abihiko could have asked for any better deal in their winter stay in Nara at all. What inn? What rented rooms?

With only a few fixes and a lot of patience in dealing with the very argumentative and cranky old lady, the two of them ended up finding the most perfect place for them to stay, during this winter. A remote, well-hidden, and above all -- a random place they could stash away in, without anyone being able to trace them here or disturb them.

Apart from the said cranky old lady, of course.

But that, Nekohiko and Abihiko didn't even mind much, in the end.

Their beautiful wintery rest in Nara began there, that night. And only came to a close a few weeks later, when the entire city filled with the newest and most pending rumor about the state of the rebellion at the borders.

The news that there had been a second Great Lord who had joined forces with the rebellion.

Apparently, that winter, Nekohiko had gotten himself another loyal ally.

Exactly as Suminoe had predicted he would.

 

Oh, because I am kinda sure that nobody here really remembers this -- but Nekohiko mentioned that he and Abihiko have a house in Nara, together, lol, that they rent from an old lady. In Chapter 51, The Infernal Emperor. It was time I elaborated on it because that house does come in handy in the present very, very soon ^^.

Likewise, Abihiko's family castle was referenced as far as Chapter 6, Wood Puns, though, of course you have seen it recently when he and Mikawa went to visit it to get Neko's body back.

And, lastly, The Tree Foxes is the same restaurant Neko, Mikawa, and Kataji visited on the first day outside in Nara ^^. yes, I am very self-referential -- and also yes, I do remember most references I make in the story and can remind you whenever you need them! \(*O*)/

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