"Or what?" Kirihito's voice slipped into the silence—soft, curious, but cutting clean through it.
He tilted his head, eyes half-lidded yet bright with mischief, as if the question itself were a game he didn't fully understand.
He sat up again despite the warmth of the blanket trying to claim him, the movement quiet but defiant.
"Yes, or?~ Why stop now?" Xì leaned forward, grin widening, feathers ruffling with delight. "Speak up, Xio—Xì's all ears."
Xio froze, color rising to his face. He hadn't expected his warning to turn into a performance.
he took a deep, shuddering breath. The combined pressure of the approaching dawn, the stubborn, beautiful yokai clinging to his robe, and the shameless crow waiting for leverage was almost unbearable. He had to be brutally honest, relying on Kirihito's unique boundaries.
"Or he'll touch your hips, your thighs—the places where you never wanted to be touched even accidentally, and you cracked my hips for that same matter!" xio blurted out in a single, rushed exhale, the memory of Kirihito's fierce, protective reaction still throbbing faintly in his own bones.
The sudden, frank declaration caused both xì and Kirihito to freeze.
Kirihito's innocent, surface mind was reeling, processing the anatomy and the specific prohibition. But deep inside, his darker consciousness, the powerful entity xio was struggling to manage, spoke a chilling observation that no one could hear: Shy insect… that's why you were even more scared of my hips… you listen to him too carefully, then my one…
Xio looked between them, his face still burning, waiting for the inevitable explosion of chaos or confusion.
Then, xì let out a short, careless peal of laughter. "Haha~ it's not like Kirihito-sama is scar—"
"No! Birdie can't touch me there!" Kirihito's sharp, snake-like hiss instantly cut xì off, a startling confirmation that despite his childish nature, his boundaries were absolute and fierce. He was instantly proving xì wrong—Kirihito absolutely had an issue with being touched in certain areas.
Poor xì didn't fully comprehend the complex, almost metaphysical commitment Kirihito was making. The crow's entire fantasy of a new, delightful source of mischief was instantly ruined, but he was not one to lose hope entirely. He wasn't that kind of demon. His mouth watered as he looked at Kirihito again, his mind already spinning new, equally dubious schemes.
Kirihito, meanwhile, was hugging himself, a gesture meant to convey modesty but which only served to emphasize the contours xio had just warned against. His slim hip bones were clear against the shift of the fabric, one pale leg was exposed from his robe as always, and the loose garment had slipped again, revealing his fragile left shoulder.
Xio's lips pressed into a thin line of soft annoyance and renewed embarrassment. He moved instantly, his hand gently pulling the silk back up to cover the pale shoulder. "Cover yourself… I bet he's eating you up with his eyes right now," he murmured, the words feeling protective and a little possessive.
Kirihito huffed, pulling the blanket tighter around his shoulders. He didn't like the same dialogue Kyoren had used—it made him remember that annoying night, the insults, the lack of respect. "Wèi doesn't likes those words… nor boredom," he mumbled, the last word carrying a genuine threat.
"Still… truth is truth. Water is called water, remember what I said?" xio reasoned, attempting to sound like a mature guardian, despite his youth and his own overwhelming lack of certainty. "Now stay here like a good Snake… we'll meet at afternoon again."
Xio stood up, laying Kirihito back down again with careful finality. This time, Kirihito didn't yell. He merely bit xio's wrist, a precise, painful nip that spoke volumes of his protest.
"Ah! What's wrong again?!" xio quickly pulled his hand away, rubbing the pinprick wound.
"Wèi is hungry too… feed Wèi…" Kirihito demanded, his current objective now shifted to simply finding any reason to keep xio with him longer. He opened his mouth like a demanding, fluffy baby bird waiting to be fed.
"Dragon fruits aren't left more," xio sighed, exhaling dramatically. He truly wished he had more of the special fruit to buy himself time and peace.
"Insects are biggest liars!" Kirihito complained, his tone accusing and adorable at the same time.
"Seriously, there is no more. You can later check by yourself if you don't believe me," xio insisted.
"Bring more!" Kirihito ordered, adopting a look of theatrical, exaggerated distress, as if he were dying of starvation right then and there.
"How will I bring food for you if you don't let me go back?" xio bit back another smile, thoroughly charmed by Kirihito's persistent, weird behaviors.
Kirihito went silent for a while, his inncoent brain working, fighting the heavy pull of sleepiness. "…Hmph… fine…"
Kirihito finally let go of xio's robe, the concession driven by the understanding that he really needed to let him go, if only for the sake of his dear stomach. That was why he had agreed to this deal with xio in the first place—the Fukaki was cursed and xio was preventing him from going to the safer Kazomaki kingdom. Food, it seemed, was the ultimate lever.
"Good Snake… I'll bring lots of gifts for you…" xio said softly, relief flooding his expression. He gently stroked Kirihito's hair again.
Kirihito's body instantly vibrated with soft purrs and contented chirps, his previous annoyance melting away under the gentle affection.
"Bring some cherries for Xì too, human," xì piped up, listing his demand with an arrogant smirk, closing one eye dramatically.
"Find yours by yourself… I can't bring," xio rejected, without a second thought, his tone flat.
Xì pouted sadly, fluttering his wings. "You want a cute birdie like xì die without food?~"
"Better you do… if you die, shameless things will be more limited," xio countered, his tone dry and merciless.
"Hey! That's getting too insulting, human! Xì is important in this world too!"
"Then be pro—"
"Aahhh!! Stop screaming birdie and insect! Wèi is trying to sleep… if you all keep talking Wèi will go out of the house to play with insect heads!" Kirihito growled softly, finally reaching his limit. He pulled the blanket completely over his head, a white, indignant cocoon.
Xì and xio froze instantly. The threat of Kirihito wandering outside was a catastrophic risk.
"No, no, no… we are silent… you sleep soundly," xio quickly assured him, then violently shushed xì, his eyes burning with renewed threat. "One more unwanted activity from you and you'll become a showpiece in my uncle's room, understood?"
Xì just scoffed and mocked him with a silent, exaggerated gesture, but said nothing further. Xio rolled his eyes, utterly frustrated by the combination of his throbbing wounds and the two high-maintenance yokai he was suddenly responsible for.
His gaze softened again as he looked at Kirihito's covered form. He lowered himself slightly near the covered head and spoke in a soft, genuine voice. "Good night, Wèi… we'll meet again soon…"
Kirihito peeked out from the edge of the blanket, his beautiful, blindfolded face tilted up toward xio. He nodded once, a silent acceptance of the promise.
Xio lingered for a moment. He wondered, as he had before, what Kirihito's eyes would look like without the confining blindfold—probably beautiful, he thought. He fixed Kirihito's stray strands of hair, his touch almost too tender, a momentary urge to brush the hair fully back from the forehead and see what was beneath—but he decided against it. Not just yet. The time wasn't right.
"Something something happening, isn't it?~" Xì teased, his tone a sickeningly sweet, almost jealous whine.
Xio stood up quickly, his gentle moment shattered by the crow's intrusion. He glared at xì. "No, it isn't… stop using your 'holy' mouth."
Xì's shoulders shook as he laughed soundlessly, crossing his arms over his chest, clearly enjoying xio's flustered state.
"No. Unholy. Things. Here. Okay?" xio repeated, his warning firm, leaving no room for misunderstanding.
"Yeah, yeah… fine, just leave~ Shu shuu~" xì waved his hand dismissively, like driving away an irritating bug.
"Spoiled crow," xio murmured under his breath, before finally turning and walking away, out of the small, protective chamber.
"Ba bai~" xì called, waving again, but xio didn't look back. The moment he stepped into the main area of the house, the protective tenderness vanished, replaced by the grim determination of the 2nd Dàozǔ.
He took a deep breath, the chill of the near-dawn air striking his face. He raised both hands, struggling slightly due to the pain in his injured arm, and began to weave an invisible shield around the hidden house. He raised two fingers, eyes closed, and touched his own forehead. A pulsating, bluish-gray light appeared, shimmering and flickering with controlled power.
With a thrust, he directed it upwards. The light spread, blooming into an invisible barrier—the Censor Shield Yìn Yàn jèi jèi, woven with an additional invisibility spell. He made it robust, complex, and potent, ensuring that no cultivator—Demonic or Angelic—could find the location nor feel Kirihito's powerful, unique presence.
"I hope… it'll not break easily…" xio breathed out, the strain of the spell and his exhaustion evident in his voice.
He then reached to his waist belt, pulling out a small, black flute from a smooth, polished gem setting. He placed it to his lips and played a single, piercing note. The sound was high-pitched, loud, and commanded immediate attention, cutting through the silence of the fading night.
A massive shadow began to coalesce in the air: a huge shadow dragon, all black, wreathed in thick, swirling black fog. It bore the chilling mark of Lanxie, confirming its allegiance to Kage ou. The terrifying beast lowered its head, bowing in unnatural subservience for xio to mount. Xio stepped up, and with a thunderous rush of power, the dragon flew away, disappearing into the pre-dawn gloom.
Xio looked back once, toward the silent house that held his unexpected treasure, his new burden, his newfound purpose.
You'll be safe… I promise… this time I'll not let him turn down anything… The vow, cold and iron-clad, was the only thing that carried him forward into the dangerous confrontation that awaited him.