"...Fuck," Korū hissed randomly a while later.
"What?" Cayne asked, downplaying his alarm.
"Ghhh, my sis might actually die from the pain, even if the poison doesn't kill her," Korū growled.
"Could you just block out the pain?" Cayne asked, frowning.
"We have some sort of additional bond because we're twins. Hikari likes to call it 'twin radar'." Korū answered, wincing again.
"I'm sure she's stronger than that, Korū. Anyway, Jo wouldn't let that happen. She'd kill herself first, but then both Council members and Okhrana swear that suicide is never an option." Alina said
"Why the hell would anyone swear never to commit suicide?"
"Okay, I mean, under certain conditions. Like, never commit suicide if there's even one person depending on us, so. The promise is there to remind all of us that there will always be others to help when the going gets tough." Alina tried but failed to explain, "Basically, she'll keep her word when she says she'll take care of Hikari."
"Huh. You know, there's this thing called the Suicide Forest-"
"What's that?" Alina asked.
"I'm sure the name is self-explanatory."
"Not really. Why would anyone want to commit suicide in a forest?"
"You can hang yourself on the trees, so why not?" Korū pointed out, like it was the most straightforward thing in the world.
"I would be too lazy to even go to a forest. Just cut yourself with a kitchen knife. It's painful, it's bloody. Who wouldn't want it?" Alina said in the same tone.
"Are you running a fever?" Linda joked from the driver's wheel. "Cayne, check her forehead."
"I'm fine." Alina whined as Cayne reached out. He yelped as she batted his hand away.
"Forests are a way better resting place than your kitchen." Korū said.
"You'll have about ten minutes to bleed out, you could just walk to a graveyard. Or bring the knife to a graveyard with you. Or buy a coffin then cut yourself."
"Why go through all that trouble? Plus the scenery in a forest is better than a graveyard." Korū pointed out.
"Well, if I had to kill myself, I would do it at home for comfort. Like, lie on my bed and sleep as I'm passing out from blood loss."
"Why are you even having this conversation?" Linda butted in. It was entertaining, but it was also starting to worry her.
"Why not?" It was also kind of worrying that Korū sounded genuinely confused.
"Can we talk about why you brought up the Suicide Forest in the first place?" Cayne asked.
Korū blinked. "It's at Mount Fuji, we're heading there anyway, and I want to check it out. But I swear I'm not planning a one-way trip."
Cayne just managed to hold back a sigh of relief.
"Okay, that's totally not weird, but sure. We'll probably have time when we're still figuring out what exactly to do." Linda said.
"Why would it be different from any other forest?" Alina questioned.
"...Wanting to go there is perfectly normal. It's a tourist attraction." Korū deadpanned.
"You're a local, how have you not been there before?" Alina asked.
"There was no reason for me to."
"Fair enough." Alina conceded.
"How long is this trip going to be?" Cayne asked. They've been going on way too many road trips.
"Probably another six hours." Linda replied, glancing at the GPS she was referring to. Korū eyed Kaguya as the cat twitched restlessly.
When they reached a quiet road, which was queer in itself, a screech was heard from above them, and a dragon swooped down to fly next to the car, wings brushing the ground. One wrong flap and the ground would most likely be carved open.
"Okay, what the hell?" Linda exclaimed, slowing the car down to a stop.
"That can't be safe." Alina commented, getting a glare from Linda. Alina peered carefully at the dragon. It looked familiar.
Korū flung the door open casually, and was about to step out when the dragon barreled into him, shifting back into a human. He wasn't wearing anything.
"OH MY FUCK, SHŌHEI, WEAR SOMETHING FIRST, GOD DAMN IT!" Korū screeched, backpedaling. The tips of his ears were red.
Cayne eyed him curiously at this interesting phenomenon. The Korū was blushing, and he hadn't murdered the person yet.
"Holy fuck, I think my eyes are burning." Alina groaned after accidentally taking a glance at the naked guy. Her head was now buried in her arms, on top of the dashboard.
"Same." Linda muttered, her eyes resolutely focused straight in front of her. "Hey Cayne, tell us when he's wearing something."
"You're telling me to keep an eye on him?" Cayne asked incredulously, also staring at the seat in front of him, after catching the initial actions of the other two guys. Based on Korū's reaction, this newcomer wasn't a threat.
And while most shifters were generally okay with stripping in front of others, it still wasn't something they did or watched freely.
Shōhei just grinned at his friend and proceeded to pull on a pair of pants from a bag dangling from his arm. Korū was dying of embarrassment, for perhaps more than one reason. His friend was an idiot but he was nice, so Korū honestly couldn't help but love him. As a friend.
"Is he done?" Alina asked, hearing the rustling of clothes.
Shōhei gave his friend a nudge. "Yeah. Korū, you can look now."
"Right, so who are you?" Cayne asked, a slight edge to his voice.
"I'm Shōhei." The amber-eyed dragon gave him a friendly grin. "Korū's my best friend." He wrapped an arm around Korū's shoulders, and surprisingly, the latter didn't move away.
"And what are you doing here?"
"Haruku-sensei sent me." Shōhei blinked at Cayne. "Hey, don't look at me like that! I'm just a childhood friend." He eyed Korū. "Well, actually, we're lovers."
Korū's head shot up, and he glowered at Shōhei. "Stop bullshitting, dumbass." But his voice held no anger, only mild amusement.
"I'm kidding!"
Cayne raised a questioning eyebrow. He didn't really know how to handle this situation. The most important question was if this Shōhei guy was… gay… or bi… or anything other than straight. If he was, Cayne could start panicking.