[TAMIKO]
"Well, I guess I'll see you around, Hinata. If you want to play games, I'm always available. I bet you a hundred bucks you can't beat me," the king said, his tone so soft that it was strange again.
Maybe they were in another part of the world, and maybe, just maybe, this was a different version of Kawai, yeah?
"I haven't played, but if you teach me, I'm sure I can kick your ass. I'll take you up on the challenge. But for now, I still gotta fix the door and the balcony, before the king comes back.
"I'll see you later, Toshiro," Tamiko said softly as he watched the lycan king smile at him like it was the norm. The smile was so genuine and Tamiko felt safe with him.
Perhaps it was because he knew that he was safe in Kawai and that the lycan king wasn't just an animal who went after people because he was bored, no?
But then did Tamiko even know that the man he had been chatting with simply had been the dark king who was the reason for endless nightmares in the realm and beyond?
"Be well, Hinata," the king said and Tamiko instantly looked at Lord Sadako. That was the same statement Lord Sadako always used when they parted ways. What the hell was with lycans and the statement anyway? Perhaps it was how they were trained.
Tamiko didn't think too much of it, because honestly, he had no reason whatsoever to distrust the Toshiro personality he had just interacted with. If anything, Tamiko could easily say that Toshiro was a ball of sunshine, someone he hoped to interact with even more.
But would Toshiro want the same for longer?
Was it a guarantee even as the man stared at him softly?
Was it worth holding on to or was Tamiko preparing himself for the ultimate heartbreak?
"You too, Toshiro," Tamiko said before the lycan king walked out of the palace, only for them to hear the door to his room shut with a bang. The lycan knew what that meant and it wasn't good news.
Their Lycan King was back and there were so many questions.
****
With his new acquaintance gone, Tamiko looked at Kosta and the lycans who were around. They seemed way more relaxed than they had been earlier, and that made Taniko wonder what was happening.
Of course, he knew that the dark king had to have contributed to it, but a part of him had been hoping that it wouldn't be so bad. Besides the lycan king had changed over the years he had had a mate, yeah?
Well, Tamiko was forgetting the part about the king losing everything in the hands of wolves, the same wolves that he himself despised with all of him.
"Come, baby. We have an hour to dinner and you haven't cleaned up," Igor said and Tamiko pouted at him, before he looked at Lord Sadako who just nodded in approval. Of course, he would approve.
What they had done a few seconds ago was the riskiest they had ever done. And yet a part of Sadako knew that they would be interacting with the king and Toshiro even more.
Sure, it was something that would be relieving, but would the king still remain as Toshiro once Tamiko was taken back to Grealor? Was that an option that the Kawai lycans would be able to explore? Oh, but there was a lot.
"Can't I just go like this? I feel more comfortable in my clothes. Besides, I haven't done anything that would be crazy yet. Please, Kosta," Tamiko pleaded with his mate who figured that it wouldn't be problematic.
Besides, it was just dinner, right? And it wasn't like the lycan king would make a show today anyway.
King Zaffuto Hinata had never made it to dinner in twenty-five years and tonight, just like every other diner that Sadako had invited him to, they were expecting him to be a no-show. It wasn't that hard because they were sure that he was back to brooding.
Then again, what were the chances that he was going to show? This was the one aspect that even Sadako himself didn't know what to expect of his brother. Perhaps there would be a difference, but what if?
"Fine, I'll give you a tour of the kingdom," Kosta suggested with a smile on his face, even though he was scared for his mate and everyone else.
The lycan king had shown up in his most unpredictable state and the kingdom was walking on eggshells despite the fact that the king had gone back to his room. It was crazy, though it was the kind of crazy that they had subscribed to unwillingly.
"I feel sleepy, Kosta. I haven't slept since… Y'know," Tamiko said scared that he would be thrust into the reality where his Kosta was a betrayer and someone he couldn't trust. But was that it?
"No problem love. We can always tour some other day. I'll take you to rest then," Igor said as he looked at Lord Sadako.
Once again, the lycan Lord just nodded at Igor.
****
Dinner did come by faster than they had expected.
Unlike Tamiko who was excited for the dinner, Igor and Sadako were worried. They weren't sure of what they would do if the dark king, the same man Tamiko had interacted with as Toshiro, made a show in his ever-brooding form.
Sadako was not ready for that conversation with his brother. So he locked the mind links and disappeared among the lycans. It wasn't clear what he was expecting, but when the time for dinner came, the lycan Lord was the first at the table.
This was a royal dinner, one that Sadako had prepared for the king, Kosta and Igor.
For someone who didn't want the king and his son bonding and unpacking so much in a short time, Lord Sadako was surely doing a terrible job at keeping them apart. However, he had missed what family dinners had looked like, and he was going to try and slowly integrate them.
"I'm glad you stayed," Lord Sadako said to Tamiko when he saw the young lycan come to the table with his mate. He had known Tamiko would rebel and leave, but seeing him here made him feel a little better about the unpredictable dinner.
"Am I welcome?" a familiar voice interrupted them, making Igor and Sadako stare at the man before them like they were in utopia.
"Oh Toshiro, you came!" Tamiko beamed with excitement as he looked at the lycan king who was dressed worse than earlier. At least this time, he didn't smell like shit, or sweat from the old clothes he had dug out of Lord Sadako's trash trunk.
This was probably going to be getting out of hand, but Sadako was more excited to see the father and son smiling at each other, even though he could feel like his heart would stop anytime now from the amount of anxiety he was experiencing.
These two were terrible for his health, but what else could Sadako do, when this was the first time in twenty-five years his brother had smiled more than once in the same day?
"Of course. I figured you'd need a familiar face. We're eating with the dark king, after all," Toshiro said and Tamiko's eyes lit up with excitement and yet at the same time, there was fear in them.