Chapter Hundred Seventeen

Sweet

 

Content Warning:

NSFW Content in the first half.

 

 

Nekohiko locked eyes with him, the deep tenderness in his chest ready to burst. Underneath him, Abihiko tensed up -- and through the thin sliver of his inner robe lapels, open haphazardly with tossing around at night -- Nekohiko saw the abdominal muscles clench as though in fright or maybe anticipation...

Nekohiko smiled, his teeth so expertly at pulling Abihiko's trouser ties loose.

But when he lowered his head to tag at the band of the pants, Abihiko couldn't handle it anymore. As though too self-aware of his morning erection straining under the thin fabric, he tried to close his legs and push Nekohiko away -- and was sitting up again.

What a dummy.

Nekohiko planted a tentative kiss against the amusing bulge Abihiko was so desperate to hide. The ramie fabric could not hide the shape or the feel of it at all. The rigid springiness, the excitement it held... Even from the merest of touches of Nekohiko's lips against the graceful arch, Abihiko's cock twitched, already expectant.

But Abihiko was of a different mindset.

"Nekohiko, n-no--"

His hands pushed against Nekohiko's shoulders, and awkwardly, he tried to slide aside and get up. Nekohiko threw him a disgruntled look. He grabbed hold of Abihiko's thighs from below and angled his arms around them for the ease of handling. Then he jerked him to himself. Setting him in front of himself in exactly the perfect pose.

Lying back, and captive in Nekohiko's embrace.

Though it only frustrated Abihiko more. "Do not toy with what you cannot handle," he warned Nekohiko in a groggy rasp. "For you, it is a throwaway joke, but for me..."

"Who said I cannot handle you?" Nekohiko once again lowered himself against Abihiko's crotch. This time, he touched the straining erection with his tongue -- though still only through the fabric. Slowly, he pressed his lips on both sides of the shaft in a sort of a test of what he could do and what Abihiko's reaction would be.

The restrained cock twitched again. A gentle, yet such a needy motion which set Nekohiko's heart alight. Abihiko's breath hitched, but his brows were still knitted.

And his stupid hands were still very much superfluous on Nekohiko's shoulders, pushing him away.

"I know you do not want these types of things, so you are merely... faking it for my sake." Abihiko's hands trembled, barely palpably, against Nekohiko. The nervousness in them and the reluctance in how Abihiko tried to push him away... it only exacerbated Nekohiko's profound amusement.

Abihiko wanted this... so much, but he was still trying to make sure that Nekohiko wanted it, too?

Of course Nekohiko did.

Just the silent plea and deep-seated desire in Abihiko's eyes told him everything, even if Abihiko's lips kept telling him not to bother.

"I want you," Nekohiko told him, his breath soft and slow against Abihiko's tense, sweet arousal. He never broke eye contact with him, gently leaving small pecks over the hard curve.

Abihiko's eyes had never looked blacker. His pupils fully dilated, his gaze already hooded with anticipation yet still tinted with disbelief.

"You are lying," Abihiko mouthed in the last attempt to convince Nekohiko.

Or maybe himself.

To which Nekohiko could only smile, eagerly and wickedly.

"I have never wanted you more."

It was the truth, actually. Abihiko's slight shivers running down his limbs, the hidden desire cresting over him and overtaking his manners, his intense gaze -- they excited Nekohiko, too.

Perhaps not in the same way as they would Abihiko, but nonetheless...

A yearning for intimacy and for a... taste... for something deep and heady and lewd, it still lit up inside Nekohiko. And, led forth by it, he finally grasped the edge of Abihiko's pants over his flat stomach. Then slowly pulled it down, revealing the body part that Nekohiko had never before seen so close up and so... utterly in his control and gaze.

The fumbling with the clothes was still clumsy, because Nekohiko only wanted to use his teeth to pull the pants away. So he failed, at first, and plopped face-first onto Abihiko's cock...

The silky length felt as though it scalded his cheek at the touch, even though it would have been impossible. It was hot, of course, pulsing barely perceptibly under Nekohiko's touch. The slight, familiar smell of musk and... well, of Abihiko, enfolded him, giving him another jolt of glee at imagining what this would lead to.

And how sweet his and Abihiko's pleasure would be.

"Are you all right?" Abihiko asked him. "You didn't hit yourself, did you?"

Ahh... Not at all.

Nekohiko checked to see if Abihiko would think he was pathetic with how clumsy he was.

But Abihiko didn't. His hands on Nekohiko's shoulders clenched, though, his fingers digging for a moment into the robe.

"I am just very thorough with the whole 'no-hands' thing," Nekohiko said, bright. Then shrugged Abihiko's hold off. "You should, too. Cheater."

"Neko... I think you should definitely use hands for what you want to do--" Abihiko whispered. "Because... I don't want you to hurt yourself by accident. And it isn't very comfortable for a beginner to not use hands--"

Tch.

Have some faith in me.

"You have jumped pretty quickly on the overall idea, though," Nekohiko purred, finally not being restrained by Abihiko's hands. He was free to creep forward and stop where he was most comfortable between Abihiko's legs.

"No, I didn't. I just... want you to not... force yourself if you don't want to-- mmmnng..."

Rather than keep arguing with him, Nekohiko decided to demonstrate. With just the tip of his tongue, he traced the underside of the hot, throbbing shaft before him -- all the way to the tip. But not quite.

He stopped before reaching it and pulled back, his eyes once again searching to find the answer in Abihiko's face.

And Abihiko, blushing a vivid red across his cheeks like the shy boy he was, could only close his eyes, waiting. His chest rose and fell, and his lips were open, letting out noisy breaths...

"Please," he uttered, his whole body arching ever so subtly against Nekohiko's withheld proximity.

How pretty, Nekohiko thought. How... mine.

His gaze dropped lower and for the first time since he began, he became a bit doubtful of his idea.

...

Well, because Abihiko was a bit too huge for what Nekohiko would consider comfortable to fit into his mouth. Then again, he hadn't tried yet...

Although he might need the help of his hands, after all.

He had never seen Abihiko's cock so close up and so... exposed, before. Framed by the copse of vulnerably fine pubic hair, before him, the penis strained at a slight curve. Skin, just as pale as the rest of Abihiko, over the venous surface, climbing up to the enlarged, rounded head. Along the bottom of the shaft, thin lines of blackened Binder's Corruption laced upward, but so faintly, Nekohiko was reminded of marble...

And with how vivid and tumescent with the blood flow, the cock was -- closer to the head, a shade of pink finally spread, adding an angry, demanding hue. It screamed desire. The shaft was rather thick, but not too fat, and, little as Nekohiko knew about dicks in general -- he thought it looked... handsome.

He kept such thoughts to himself, though, for the fear of ruining the mood with his silly perceptions. Because the moment was so heady and so alluring, he knew he could not ruin it.

Nekohiko climbed forward to try his first sweet taste of the beading precome, pearlescent and glistening, at the slit of the twitching penis. His mouth already washed with saliva as though anticipating.

Ah, the first touch of his tongue against the smooth, silky skin brought a shiver out of him and Abihiko both. Even without knowing what he was doing, he swirled his tongue around the head, then suckled on the salty, nostalgic taste of Abihiko's lewd fluid.

And wrenched a shuddering breath out of Abihiko's diaphragm.

"Neko--"

Lifting his head up to meet his eyes, Nekohiko messed up. And the springy, stiff cock escaped his mouth with a funny pop. Which shamed Nekohiko again, greatly.

He was just learning, all right?

He didn't even know what he was doing, argh. Was this even considered a mistake? As long as Abihiko wasn't laughing at him, he would take anything...

Just please do not stop him from exploring whatever he wanted.

He planted fond, wet kisses along the length, noting just how taut Abihiko's legs grew around him and how goosefleshed his skin was under Nekohiko's fingers.

"Do you like it?" Nekohiko whispered, covering the hot member with his drool as much as he could to make it slick, slippery, his.

"Mmmmnnfg." Abihiko retracted his hands as though to cover his face from Nekohiko's greedy sight and avoid showing just how flustered and lustful his expression became. "Yes... I like it... Do you...?"

"Not when you do this." Nekohiko caught Abihiko's wrists in both his hands and pulled them back down. His fingers, already somehow sweaty and hot, quickly tangled themselves with Abihiko's in a possessive lattice, refusing to let go no matter what. "No hands, remember?"

Oh, but why was Abihiko always so utterly embarrassed of the intimate moments between the two of them? Nekohiko knew for a fact that Abihiko was shameless, maybe even slutty, according to some people -- with others. 

But not with Nekohiko. As though even the idea of doing anything so obscene with him lurched Abihiko out of his usual derision and carelessness about sex and made him... shy, afraid of it or what it symbolized.

As though he couldn't dare to even think of defiling Nekohiko with something so... filthy.

Ohhh, "filthy".

The thought awakened the old heat in Nekohiko's abdomen, one that he knew so well after their passionate night in Ise. And even though his own cock wasn't touching anything, it already stirred with the barely-explainable shudder and strain. The pressure down there made it almost painful against Nekohiko's pants. Thus, to relieve it, he slowly ground his groin against the crumpled blanket on the bed.

Yes, just from thinking of how... dirty Abihiko thought this was -- Nekohiko became harder than he'd ever been. And he didn't even take Abihiko in his mouth yet!

In a rush, he opened his lips and caught the thick, bulbous head, softly enfolding it with his tongue before his mouth closed all around it.

His instinct and memory guided him.

His breathing, hard and fast, his heart like a fluttering trapped bird in his chest.

He had never done this before... but he had received oral pleasure from Abihiko. Three times, five years ago. And each of these times, Nekohiko had been in shock at the audacity and ingenuity of such an act! Before Abihiko had done it to him the very first time, Nekohiko hadn't even known such obscene things could be done to people...

Such a filthy, unworthy body part, taken into someone's mouth and suckled on. Abihiko's lips had felt searingly hot on his penis the very first time. The red of his tongue was just so bright as Abihiko twirled it around the shaft as though savoring something delicious and sweet... like those myriads of candy Abihiko adored so much.

Mmmnnngg -- the sensation and the visual had been so powerful that Nekohiko hadn't even managed to experience the act itself. The moment Abihiko slid his mouth down his cock a few times, Nekohiko already lost himself to the unbridled pleasure.

The stimulation was just so intense!

He exploded into his mouth, his vision going blind with fireworks as his mouth erupted in a whimper he couldn't restrain. It had been that one noise that had woken the old lady in the house where he and Abihiko had sneaked into to sleep. But Nekohiko just couldn't control himself, so overpowering the experience was.

The next two times, it had been not much different. He'd gotten used to what it entailed, and the idea itself had no longer stunned him so. But he still couldn't last more than a brief minute in Abihiko's expertly, seductive care. Nekohiko had no chance to resist -- his cock was as though tamed by Abihiko's hot tongue...

The heat had always conquered him whole, rendering Nekohiko nothing but a puppet to his body's starved pleasure. He trembled and quaked and moaned in Abihiko's arms. His hips moved on their own, trying to buck into Abihiko's mouth and plunge in deeper -- when the climax was nearly upon him.

But at least, those other times, Nekohiko could see and learn a few things. How Abihiko had licked and covered Nekohiko's shaft in slick saliva, how Abihiko had bobbed his head up and down, hollowing his cheeks with the maddening feel of sucking that enfolded Nekohiko so strongly...

And above all, the eye contact.

The never-ending sensation of being together, of wanting each other... of dissolving into the moment like never before.

Like right now...

Now, he found nothing dirty or shocking in what he was doing. He only wanted to savor this. To enjoy it as much as Abihiko had always looked when he'd done it. And to have Abihiko come undone in Nekohiko's greedy hold as it had been the other way around all those times before.

Heartbeat pounded in his ears.

Abihiko's taste and scent filled his mouth, making him moan in the vivid imagining of what it would feel like, to have his mouth filled with Abihiko's semen. Would Abihiko feel just as helpless and driven by chasing down the desire that he would not be able to stop himself?

Yes... Nekohiko wanted nothing more than to see that.

To taste it and make his own.

The head leaked precome, mixing with Nekohiko's saliva -- a bitter, animalistic taste. As Nekohiko's mouth slowly slid down the shaft, his lips tight around it -- and up again, he felt just how tight everything in Abihiko became. His cock was so amazingly hard on Nekohiko's tongue, its pulse reacting so sweetly to his movements -- that Nekohiko didn't even feel intimidated by the length and girth that at first seemed scary.

Perhaps, he couldn't fit it all into his mouth without it being uncomfortable for him. But this was where his hand could come in. Just at the bottom of the shaft, to help along with the mouth's motions. He brushed it against Abihiko's balls, so aware of their tense hardening before the nearing peak of pleasure.

Nekohiko did his best to hide away his teeth. His mind reeled with memories of how soft and smooth and welcoming Abihiko's mouth had felt around his own cock, and he mimicked the motions as best he could.

Mmmm, the doubled perception of what had been before and what was going on now -- it coursed through him, clouding his mind. So heated, so intimate. So... irresistible.

He clenched his arms around Abihiko's thighs, the tautness of muscles almost ringing under Abihiko's skin at each of Nekohiko's bobbing motions with his mouth. Their fingers dug into one another's, giving Nekohiko the exact sense of how much Abihiko was enjoying it and how desperate this was making him.

Abihiko's back was arching. His breath -- hastened and ragged, and his eyes -- misted with want as they stared into Nekohiko's. But so far, Abihiko was so utterly still in his embrace. His hips were locked down as though through immense force to not move, to avoid grinding himself against Nekohiko's mouth.

Which Nekohiko found maddening.

You want it, he knew, relishing in the stiff clenching of Abihiko's abdominal muscles, his legs, his fingers... Why are you denying that you do?

But he couldn't speak, only moan, frustrated as he worked up and down the shaft. He moaned and sucked on, feeling the immediate twitch and engorging of the cock on his tongue.

And when he did... the rumble of his voice translated to the shaft, bringing ever more pleasure, and Abihiko finally threw his head back, unable to keep himself still any longer.

"Neko..." His throat bobbed in a desperate gulp of air and he shuddered under Nekohiko's touch. With one free hand, he grasped at Nekohiko's shoulder once more -- but not to stop him.

Perhaps, to urge him on. Or maybe because Abihiko wanted to sink his fingers into his hair... He didn't, freezing shyly just next to Nekohiko's face -- but the clear desire to grab him and further his own pleasure were so clear, Nekohiko's own cock tightened in sweet excitement.

Abihiko wanted him. So much, he couldn't control his body's desires anymore.

Good.

So good.

Nekohiko moaned again when his own hips found relief on grinding against the bed rigidly. His insides tightened and released, spasming in the oncoming release that took all thought out of his actions. His motions on Abihiko's cock increased pace, his breath quickening, straining through his nose as the first smattering of tears touched his eyes. He wanted to finish so much... he wanted to come... he felt downright desperate...

Please.

His cheeks hollowed, taking in more of Abihiko, almost forgetting how uncomfortable and timid he'd been with so much cock in his mouth before. He was so close... so sensitive down there, yet so far from the end...

Losing his mind with the want, Nekohiko dropped his hand from steadying Abihiko's cock before himself and grasped feverishly at his own bulging penis. Insane with the need to chase down the orgasm that eluded him so frustratingly.

His fingers clutched the base through the thin pant fabric and squeezed -- not even moving up and down like his mouth was.

Yet that was enough.

His hips lurched and an overwhelming rush of ecstasy crashed over him as he came. So furiously -- his vision darkened and his body lost control of what he was doing and why.

He hummed a pleased moan around the cock, his lips and tongue only indulging their need over the throbbing organ. And then...

"N-neko," Abihiko groaned, his fingers digging at last with all his might into Nekohiko's hair as his pelvis could keep still no more. "I'm sorry-- I can't-- ahh--"

He bucked up, convulsing. His dick, heated with the overflowing pressure and already spasming with climax, shoving up Nekohiko's mouth.

Nekohiko hadn't expected this, but he was too lost in his own euphoria to care. All he knew was that a stream of hot semen flooded his mouth and throat, pulsing out in bouts along with Abihiko's stifled thrusts. Abihiko did his best to not move, but he couldn't stop himself.

He came so hard, his groans -- a mixture of want and shame as he shuddered all around Nekohiko. And also inside him.

Nekohiko choked on the excess come, forgetting to swallow at first. Now so much of it escaped his lips, staining his chin and cheeks with it. He gulped down as much as he could, still, and only then forced his blurry eyes open to search for Abihiko's gaze on him.

He found it.

Abihiko, his features distorted in shameless passion, watched him, panting. A sheen of sweat at his hairline, and a cluster of hair strands sticking to his taut jaw from how intense the experience had been.

His lips drained off all color, for once... almost pale with the hard breaths he was grasping for and with all his blood having rushed down to where Nekohiko wanted it to.

The last spasms of pleasure raked through Abihiko's cock, adding the final bits of salty, potent taste in Nekohiko's mouth. Nekohiko savored them all, peering as though hypnotized at Abihiko's dilated pupils. His dark, enormous eyes, pinned to his. Nothing more Nekohiko wanted to see as his mind gradually came back from the pit of pleasure it had sunken into as he'd come, himself.

When he released the slowly relaxing cock out of his mouth, he coughed, only now realizing how tired his mouth was! And how dizzy, his head -- from all the intense stimulation and sensations he was not used to.

"Neko, are you all fine?" Abihiko breathed, sitting up to hold him.

After the orgasm, both he and Nekohiko seemed sapped of all strength, yet Abihiko still found a way to be anguished about something.

"Did I... choke you with it?" he whispered, pulling Nekohiko to himself, his hands so gentle and careful over Nekohiko's face, over his cheeks and quivering mouth still dirty with the aftermath of their passion. "I didn't pull your hair, did I? I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me--"

Stop apologizing.

It was... incredible.

"I loved every last bit of you," Nekohiko told him, leaning into Abihiko's touch as Abihiko tried to wipe off the excess come from his skin. With his tired tongue, Nekohiko licked his own lips, gathering whatever had escaped from him before -- only to find Abihiko blushing so fiercely at the sight that Nekohiko couldn't help but smile.

"Who taught you such misbehavior," Abihiko said, lost. "Ah, Heavens... I did not corrupt you so much, did I...?"

"Well, I did everyfing you did to me -- back then," Nekohiko lisped. He winced, recognizing how sluggish and bleh his tongue now was and how much he needed to rest after the tolling exercise he'd just done. But it was such a minor thing compared to the overflowing sense of completion and happiness that filled him.

"Ah," Nekohiko breathed in a sudden shock. "I just realized what your comment meant, years ago. When we first had sex."

Abihiko froze, his expression -- a mask of bafflement. "Mmm?"

"Maple syrup," Nekohiko sighed, smiling tiredly into Abihiko's flustered face. "I now understand the joke. About me tasting your maple syrup. Because it was sweet, in a way. I mean, not technically sweet, since it's more salty than sweet, but--"

With a shuddering cringe, Abihiko clamped a hand over Nekohiko's mouth. "No, Neko! Why... are you saying such inappropriate things! Who taught you to say them?"

"...you did?"

Noooooooooooo! the desperate plea in Abihiko's eyes seemed to scream. What have I done?!

Nekohiko didn't care much. He was just too serene and happy to bother.

He lowered his forehead on Abihiko's collarbone, wanting nothing more than to hug it out. But Abihiko disagreed because he was already covering Nekohiko's lips with kisses while his hand crawled lower and lower to Nekohiko's...

"Hey, do you want me to die from sexual exhaustion?!" Nekohiko wanted to smack his hand away. "I cannot recuperate so fast--!"

"But now it's your turn," Abihiko began saying only to tilt his head, quizzically. "Recuperate...?"

Rather than explain, Nekohiko pressed Abihiko's fingers onto the front opening of his pants -- and to his quite worn out, flaccid wooden dick inside.

"Too late. I already did everything, myself," he sighed, nudging his nose into Abihiko's neck. "I win. You lose."

"..."

"Say it. Say I won."

"You won. I lost," Abihiko surrendered and planted a lingering kiss over Nekohiko's hair. "Are you happy now?"

Now?

Yes. I am...

I only wish it lasted.

The lava curtains veiling their bed shimmered ever so softly in their crimsons and flame hues, and Nekohiko felt somehow peaceful hidden inside them. He snuggled against Abihiko, tender with his pushing him to lie down and let him be hugged by Nekohiko like a pillow.

He was just so tired and sleepy even if he had woken up recently.

"Are you falling asleep again?" Abihiko asked him, hushed as his fingers caressed Nekohiko's hair.

Nekohiko didn't even bother answering. Sex was very exhausting to him because of how unused and rare his engagement with it was, and how troublesome he felt it could be.

So just a single hour of lust rendered him so... sluggish and lazy and warm that he only dreamt of cozying up in Abihiko's embrace for a long, long time.

"The Trial is tomorrow," Abihiko reminded him in disbelief. "We are leaving this place tonight -- did you forget? Is there nothing you want to do here? You loved being in the Hira city so much, years ago. I thought you would want to relive some memories..."

"Shhhhhh. I am sleeping."

"..."

But speechless as Abihiko was, he didn't mind Nekohiko's crushing body against his. He let Nekohiko hug himself all he wanted, and Nekohiko wanted... a lot.

 

 

---

***

 

That was not to say they didn't enjoy their leftover time in the Hira castle and city. There was so much to do, after all.

One -- taking care of the two Priestesses who were slowly recovering after their dangerous delving into the Spiritiside for too long. Two -- making sure Aomi was eating and resting from her time wasted digging through the Hira vault library. Three -- checking the last points in their prepared Trial papers and notes before tomorrow.

In Abihiko's room, they went through their papers again, now adding the few notes and lists that Aomi had made for them during her previous stay here and research about the social gossip in Nara.

There was a lot, there. Sakami hadn't lied. People indeed liked Morokata's soothing presence in the government, and all the many sparks of displeasure in the country mainly came from the non-Binding folk being fed up with all the abuses of power the Binders had shown recently.

The warlike tensions between the Kingdoms didn't help. And thus, the overall mood in the capital was so dramatically negative... even the Imperial wedding hadn't managed to calm them down that much.

People still thirsted for change and for some respite after all the many calamities that were plaguing the Empire for so long.

Nekohiko bit his lips, reading the list of gossip and crowd perceptions and... didn't know what to do or think.

The Trial would be held in front of everyone in the Empire. So many people, listening and following every word that would be uttered during it. Ugh. The pressure and stress of it...

He was glad he wouldn't be the one to participate in it.

Abihiko would.

And unlike Nekohiko's overwhelming fear of crowds and anything remotely social... Abihiko had a good chance of weathering down whatever storm would come for them.

It seemed so apparent even now, with how careless and oblivious Abihiko was about the nearing turmoil the Trial would bring. Apart from Nekohiko, who worried himself raw with the preparations, Abihiko was so damn peaceful.

And so damn rejuvenated after their small morning romp.

Strolling through the castle hallways made Abihiko sad, though.

"I had such an expansive program for you and me on our last day here," Abihiko lamented, looking out the windows of the Hira castle halls as they strolled. "So many things I dreamed of doing together with you just one more time."

Nekohiko was still too deep in his concerns about Haehime's condition. He and Abihiko had just checked in on her and Kotone and now were coming back from them. This Priestess had a harder time emerging out of her Spiritside daze than Kotone, which worried Nekohiko a lot.

Would she be all right?

So he noticed Abihiko's wistfulness only partially. "One more time? We'll have plenty of times after the Trial, stop overdramatizing."

"Mn."

Yet Abihiko still looked oddly distraught, his gaze roving over the distant reaches of the luminous Hira city roofs.

Nekohiko stopped. And then wormed his hand into Abihiko's grasp, ever so needy. "I promise you. Next time we're here, I will go with you anywhere you want."

Abihiko nodded, smiling back. But something in that smile -- or how it never reached the depth of Abihiko's eyes -- stirred the aching strings in Nekohiko's heart. He stilled against Abihiko, watchful.

"You can pick one place from that expansive program of yours," he grumbled, giving up. "One place! Fine?"

This time, Abihiko's grin was more like it. Though it also made Nekohiko doubt it would be one place, in the end.

And he was right.

Yet, because he and Abihiko didn't have enough time for a proper visit of the busy Hira city -- Abihiko took mercy on Nekohiko and only dragged him to two places he really wanted to enjoy together. To the Empire-famous lava canal market -- and to the gemstone waterfall further away from the city and into the cavernous "wilderness".

The lava canals all led to the colossal-sized lava lake in the center of the city, where boats and rafts formed a network of trading stalls and open-air restaurants, each rocking over the fiery underflow. The heat from lava was, as always, removed by Binding, so the only lava element about it was the glow and the exhilarating sensation of walking, eating, and lounging over something so volatile as liquid fire.

The rumble of the city life and the lively market only added to the experience, along with the carts and boat rides, acrobatic performances over the lava surface, and so many skewered foods, Nekohiko's head went dizzy.

Crowds. Noise. Brrrrrr.

He was only too relieved to change this place for the quieter picnic with Abihiko high in the cavernous ledges, behind a beautiful, glimmering "waterfall" of liquid amethyst that the Hira Binders made today. On every day of the week, they Bound the waterfall to glow with the color of other rare gemstones found in the Hira mountains -- rubies, sapphires, pink quartz, multicolored opals, and, of course, emerald. But today, it just so happened to be amethyst day.

Not that Nekohiko complained.

But a part of him did feel just a little bit sad he and Abihiko couldn't come here every other day to check out all the different hues, as well.

Maybe next time they were here?

Their impromptu picnic consisted of the various fruit and fried-meat balls skewers Abihiko had bought by the dozens. Not a fulfilling meal, but so diverse and endless in its possibilities.

"I concede," Nekohiko sighed. "This was a good way to spend the day together."

His eyes just couldn't wander off the smooth, silky translucence of the violet gemstone that flowed in a monumental cascade down the side of the cliff they were sitting on. Like a sheet of a majestic curtain, it shielded them from the city scape, giving a tiny niche behind the waterfall -- amidst the pale-white and black flora that bloomed around them.

Like most things under the ground, the flora of the Hira domain was bizarre, yet also oddly fitting. In a sunless space, only the spectrally white and black plants grew, Bound to survive even in such harsh conditions. Rose bushes, twisted cherry and plum trees, silvery ferns, swaying.

Beautiful in their very own way, even if seeming a bit haggard, at first sight.

Nekohiko decided he liked them very much.

"Ah, now I only need to drag you all around Nara tomorrow and the day after?" Abihiko winked mischievously. "And all my life's dreams would be sated."

"Nara?" Nekohiko gave him a glare.

"Yes, Nara. I want to have a full-date experience with you in Nara, too! We didn't get to have one yet."

...

"And I do have a very extensive program for that one, too," Abihiko promised him, smirking most obnoxiously. "It will begin with the dinner at--"

"Please don't say Three Foxes. Please don't you dare--"

Abihiko visibly deflated. "I swear I will pay for it, this time."

"With what money?! Do you know how expensive Three Foxes is?"

Wait, he realized. I am the Emperor, even if most people don't know it yet. Shouldn't I be able to dine there for free?

"Trust me, as Emperor's own husband -- you will be catered there well," Abihiko told him, suave.

...

The day ended with them saying their farewells to Aomi, to Kotone who was already awake and even cheery enough to hug both Nekohiko and Abihiko, ecstatic about their union -- and to the room Nekohiko was so fond of.

He really got a liking for those lava curtains around the bed. He reminded himself he should get those for his and Abihiko's Imperial bedroom as well, in the Emerald Palace.

Out of these last-minute things, Aomi posed the biggest point of frustration for Nekohiko.

Because while the girl was no longer sitting in the Hira vault, hidden from sight by Hinohebira warding the entrance with its magic -- she was still busy poring over the scripts and records she'd found on the vault's shelves.

Only now, most of them had been carried over to Aomi's bedroom.

The girl barely lifted her head from another manuscript she was reading when Nekohiko and Abihiko peeked in to check on her.

"I take it you are not going to Nara with us like we planned to do?" Abihiko asked, his voice stern.

Aomi didn't even hear him.

Abihiko had to slap the door with his fist to jolt her out of her obsessed perusing of the documents.

"Aomi. If you are coming with us tonight to be on the Trial like you wanted to, now is the time to start packing--"

"Nnnnn... What? No. I don't care." She threw him and Nekohiko a malevolent gaze, then went back to her reading. "I'll come there tomorrow, or maybe not at all. Shush. Don't distract me--"

"Aomi," Nekohiko said next. "Have you eaten at all today?"

Have you gone to sleep?

Are you... all right, in general?

"SHUSH. I'm fine. Just leave me alone!"

Abihiko had gotten enough of her attitude, so he rolled his eyes and said, under his breath, "Teenagers," before going away to give strict orders to the nearest Hira servants to absolutely make sure Aomi ate and slept in Abihiko's absence.

Nekohiko wasn't quite as dismissive about this, though.

"Be careful, Aomi," he said. "It might not be as important as you think it is."

The girl met his gaze with hers. The dark shadows under her eyes panged him when he saw just how sleepless the girl was.

"It is direly important," she said, smiling eerily. "Trust me. You will thank me tomorrow or the day after when I get all my proofs. Neko?" she called when he already turned away. "You still come to the ladybug, yes? You haven't destroyed the connection to it yet?"

"I haven't."

"Wonderful." She cocked her chin, then waved him off as though it was she who was the Empress, and not him. "Now go away. You are distracting."

And with that, their brief stay in the Hira castle and city was over, and their journey to the Trial began. Which only seemed like it would be long. Nara was only half a day away from here, after all.

 

 

---

***

 

 

Even this distance passed by unnoticed. The famous crystal-Bound horses of the Hira craftsmanship were fast and tireless, and Nekohiko and Abihiko arrived at their destination earlier than expected. In the dead of the night, riding into the scattered city streets from the north.

Nara.

The city... almost felt beautiful to Nekohiko after his prolonged absence. Even from the edges, it still evoked the sense of paranoid frenzy and too much noise and motion, but he somehow missed it, too.

He wouldn't be alone here, this time. He was with his best friend. Nothing the two of them couldn't handle.

By now, both young men were worn out and probably not as happy about their touristic endeavors in the Hira city hours earlier today. But it didn't matter. They arrived on time, and they only needed to get whatever sleep they could before the first day of the Trial began early in the morning.

Nekohiko felt so elated that he didn't care when Abihiko told him they heeded to hop off their Bound Hira horses and send them off back to the Hira castle. While they were still far away from the center of the city, they needed to keep their disguises in check and be as unnoticeable as possible.

Which, sure.

Nekohiko didn't expect to return to Nara with fanfare, truly. Before the Trial, he wanted... calm and quiet. Not any frenzy drawing anyone's attention would bring. He didn't want to interact with people at all, tonight.

That said, they did need to find an inn or a room to stay in. But Nekohiko hoped Abihiko would deal with the transaction on his own. Like he always did.

So he was deeply surprised when Abihiko didn't stop at any of the perfectly fine and accessible inns and renting buildings they passed. With a dead-set certainty, Abihiko marched on through the Nara outskirt streets which were animated even at such a night hour, and dragged Nekohiko on by the hand.

As though honing in to a very specific place. And nowhere else.

And as soon as Nekohiko's sight fell on the recognizable corners and cute little houses of the Shinglers' Street he had missed so much, he knew...

He knew exactly where Abihiko was taking him.

"Wait-- are you serious?" he gasped, his lips stretching into an ugly, creepy smile all on their own.

The Shinglers' Street! That small house from five years ago...

For real?

Abihiko only slowed down when the painfully-familiar roof of the dark, one-story house showed up in the middle of a very unkempt garden. The Old Ema's house.

The place that Nekohiko had almost felt was his tiny, small, and pathetic home. Simply because he'd never had any other. And simply because this was the only place in the entire world that belonged solely to him and Abihiko. Not to Okinaga, or to Abi family, or to Kazuragi, or to Suminoe.

Only for the two of them.

...

Well, maybe for Old Ema, too.

But in a completely different way, all right?

Abihiko turned to him right at the street corner that would take them to the house porch and the sweet, homely room inside. Just a single room. Yet more than enough for Nekohiko to feel happy about.

"I've been trying to drag you here ever since I met you on that reception, more than a month ago."

"..."

You were?

"I told you I'll take you somewhere safe and nice. There, on the roofs high above Nara main streets. Remember? Yet all you did was stab me in the stomach, in return." Abihiko didn't look regretful in the slightest, though. "Well. How about now, Neko? Home, sweet home? Or stab me again?"

Mmmm. How about both?

For reminding me of something so frustrating, you idiot.

Yet Nekohiko didn't care to reply and ran toward the house first, his heart already squeezing in his chest with all the sweet memories he and Abihiko had shared here years ago.