"Why?!" Kirihito demanded.
"It's… harmful for you."
"But why harmful? Where's the reason?"
Xio paused, searching for words—something that could explain without exposing too much, without dragging Kirihito into the mess that lay hidden behind the curtain of names and memories.
"Because... Kyoren is a cruel fox," he said quietly. "He doesn't know how to handle something as beautiful as you."
Kirihito scoffed. "He can't even breathe properly when I pin him, and he's cruel? Come on. If cruelty had a face, it would laugh at him. He's a stupid, middle-aged, two-tailed fox. And I want to mess with him again. He's fun to mess with."
Xio's tone tightened. Still calm, but the steel beneath the velvet was unmistakable. "He's not someone to play with. Trust me—you won't like what comes next."
Kirihito tilted his head, suspicion flickering beneath his pout. "Why? Is it because I heard him playing some weird game? You know what he's up to, don't you?"
Xio exhaled slowly, pressing his fingers to the side of his head. The mere mention of Kyoren was enough to stir a headache—like the echo of a song he didn't want to remember.
"Ah, Kirihito... don't ask too many questions about him. And no—I don't know everything. I just know he's not right for you."
Kirihito frowned, his tone turning soft and childlike. "But I don't like to stay locked."
"I know." Xio's voice dropped into something nearly pained. "But you have to. Trust me. It's for your own good."
"But I wanted to go there…"
His voice lowered again, pressing into something fragile. He sat on the floor, bouncing slightly with frustration, hugging the rabbit close to his chest. His lips pressed into a pout. He didn't scream. Didn't bite. Just sulked.
"Kirihito, no. No means no," Xio said again, a little firmer this time, though still gentle.
"Am I weak now? Locked up like some kind of princess?" Kirihito muttered bitterly.
His words were quiet, but heavy. His face half-buried in the rabbit's fur, his voice trembling with something close to hurt. He'd wanted to go to Kazomaki Kingdom—but he stayed. Quiet. Obedient in his own way.
Because he liked Xio now.
That was the only reason.
Xio studied him in silence for a moment. Then, slowly, he began to speak—deliberate, careful, like laying down petals on thin ice.
"I know you're strong. You broke my guqin. Rang bells in my head. Might've cracked a bone or two in my hips. But still…"
Kirihito let out a tiny, reluctant laugh. "Then give me a real reason. A strong one."
His tone was calm, but something sharp lay beneath it. A warning. He wasn't a child to be locked in a pretty cage without reason.
Xio inhaled deeply. He couldn't tell Kirihito everything. But he could give him something. Something poetic. Something real.
"Kirihito… you're like a rare jewel. A black diamond. There are no other yokai like you—not this powerful, not this... beautiful."
Kirihito tilted his head slightly. His hair brushed along the sharp line of his collarbone. His lips parted, stunned. A soft sound escaped—part awe, part confusion.
"If something that unique walks around freely... tearing up what it likes, enchanting whoever it pleases... you don't know who you'll run into. Even a jewel can crack. Even a strong beast can bleed."
He paused, voice softening again.
"The snake around your neck is stronger than most. I'm stronger than it. But you? You're stronger than me. That's the world. A circle. There's always someone higher—even above you."
Kirihito stared at him.
His eyes were still veiled, but the stillness in his body said enough. He wasn't used to this. To someone speaking to him like he mattered—not like a toy or a threat—but something worth protecting.
"You think I'm… too beautiful to go outside?"
His voice came out like a whispered secret. Disbelief. Wonder. Like a fragile bloom breaking through snow.
No one had ever said it like that before.
People had wanted to possess him. Fear him. Use him. Tame him. But no one had ever wanted to preserve him.
Xio smiled faintly and reached out again, scratching gently behind Kirihito's ear.
Kirihito melted into the touch, purring.
"Yes. You are that beautiful. Too beautiful to be reckless. You need a safe place—one that treats you like what you are. A rare jewel. A black pearl. A diamond no one should touch without permission."
Kirihito let out a soft, animal-like giggle.
Then, without warning, he leaned forward—and licked Xio's hand.
Xio blinked, startled. The gesture was small. Hesitant. But deeply intimate.
It made his cheeks flush faintly.
A sign of trust. A shy claim. A strange kind of affection.
"Then I'll stay," Kirihito whispered. "I won't go out. I'll hide because I'm a black diamond!"
"That's right," Xio chuckled, brushing through his messy hair. "You're a good snake, aren't you?"
Kirihito giggled again, then gently nibbled Xio's hand.
And Xio? He just watched him.
Quiet. Still.
His heart swelling with something unnameable.
The snake yokai who once wanted to crush him—was now purring under his touch.
And for once, the silence between them didn't feel like fear.
It felt like peace.