Just as a note, last chapter I forgot to mention how Kuon's eyes also changed from green to brown, so I fixed it there and am telling you guys here because I don't want you guys to have to reread the last chapter just because I changed one sentence and didn't tell you guys. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

As Kyoko arrived back in her chambers of the Sky Palace, she found Sho waiting for her, fuming with rage.

"How could you accept the decree, Kyoko?!" Sho yelled as she approached him.

"Why wouldn't I?" Kyoko replied.

"Because I'm the one you're meant to marry, not that Hizuri guy!" Sho fumed. Kyoko felt bad that her childhood friend felt this way towards her, and she didn't reciprocate his feelings back, but she had always known that she would be married for political reasons. Sho needed to know that his thoughts were only delusions.

"I'm sorry, Sho, but I think of you as more of a brother than a lover," Kyoko replied with a straight face.

"Why? Is it because I'm 20,000 years older than you? You're marrying that Hizuri guy and he's 90,000 years older than you! He'll think of you as a child compared to him!" Sho yelled. Kyoko turned away and frowned. She knew about the age difference between them, but she had tried to forget about that so that she could give her best friend her happiness in exchange for her own. Now that Sho had said it, she realized just what she had gotten into and wondered just how Kuon would treat her being 90,000 years older than her. Sho instantly knew by her frown that he had upset her.

"I didn't mean it like that. I know you have no other choice," Sho tried to console her, but she didn't turn back to look at him, only staring at the floor next to him.

"I wasn't forced to make this choice. I knew I would be married to some prince or king sooner or later. It doesn't matter who it is. If you really want me to marry you, why don't you leave me no choice like Hizuri-san did?" Kyoko spat out in anger, storming off to her bedroom whilst ignoring Sho's calls for her.

...

"Is this about the Crown Princess's marriage?" Shoko asked the blonde boy in front of her seething in anger, knowing of the young boy's affections for the future Heavenly Empress. She had known the boy since he had been brought to the heavens after his whole tribe had been killed in the war against the Ghost Kingdom, and she had been assigned as a caretaker for him. In reality, she was a maid to Sho, but he didn't treat her as badly as he treated his other maids. They shared a special bond, and Sho could come to her to talk about anything, almost like she was his mother.

"The Heavenly Empress has high expectations for her daughter. She must marry someone from a distinguished tribe. Although you are a prince, it is in name only. You are not qualified to marry the next Heavenly Empress," Shoko explained.

"But my whole tribe sacrificed their lives for the Sky Kingdom!" Sho replied.

"If Kyoko reciprocated your feelings, then things might be different, but she doesn't. Why are you so keen on marrying her?" Shoko asked. She had known of Sho's affections for Kyoko for a long time, but she didn't want her charge suffering from the unrequited love. She knew that there was no way that Saena would allow Sho to become the next Heavenly Emperor alongside Kyoko. He had to get over his feelings for her!

"I've always known that we were perfect for each other! She doesn't belong with that Hizuri creep! And I'm going to make sure she gets that through her thick skull!" Sho yelled as he stormed off to confront Kyoko once again. He would be disappointed however when he found out that she had already left for the mortal realm in search of the rogue tiger spirit.

…

Kyoko had heard about how the tiger spirit had been harassing a certain village for several mortal years and had positioned herself there until it would make its appearance. It had only taken half of a mortal day for the tiger spirit to spring into a bustling street and start to chase villagers. Kyoko's eyes widened however as she realized that the tiger spirit had the ability to breathe fire. And not only fire, but hellfire that could wound even immortals.

Nevertheless, she unsheathed her sword and charged towards the tiger spirit, delivering a high kick to its chest. The tiger roared at her and tried to spew fire towards her, but she used her sword to block the attack and countered with magic of her own. Unfortunately, the tiger dodged her attack in the nick of time and cast more fire towards her. She immediately jumped up and flew onto a nearby roof to avoid the attack. The tiger growled before hearing the cries of a child and turning towards him. The little boy was crying for his mother who he had gotten separated from during the tiger's attack, and the tiger was slowly approaching the boy. Kyoko immediately changed herself into a black dragon since the child was in danger and stood protectively in front of the boy to stop the tiger from hurting him. A mother ran out from an alley and grabbed her child once the tiger's attention was on Kyoko again. The tiger launched itself at Kyoko who wrapped her tail around it and flew up into the sky. As she flew up, the tiger clawed at her and left many claw marks on her. Once in the sky, she launched a powerful bolt of lightning at it and flung it towards the ground. When she flew back downwards, she found that the tiger spirit had been killed by the lightning attack and by the impact of with the ground. As the villagers cheered for the dragon who had saved their village, Kyoko flew away and towards the mountains to find a cave so that she could rest. The tiger's attacks had been so powerful and had made wounds so deep that she was unable to return to her human form. Kyoko cast a spell on herself to shrink her form into the size of a snake so that she would fit better inside the cave. She would only need a few days of rest until she could return to the Sky Palace.

…

Kuon had been living in his new home for a mortal month and still had no recollection of where he had come from or how he had got there. He had explored the surrounding areas since he had needed to eat and frequented the nearby village to buy goods he would need to survive. He was a great hunter, but his cooking was subpar. Luckily, it was still edible though and he didn't have a big appetite.

As Kuon explored the woods around him, he became fascinated by nature and brought home any injured animals he found so that he could nurse them back to health. He had started to even run out of room in his house, so he had put his newest bird in a wooden cage inside a nearby cave. He would bring it home that day since otwo of the other birds that he had been nursing back to health had been able to fly away due to their injuries being healed. He now had room in his house for the new bird, but when he walked into the cave, he saw a black snake curled up in the corner. He immediately walked up to it and bent down to touch it.

"Are you okay, black snake? Why are you here? It isn't hibernation season yet, so you shouldn't be resting for long periods of time unless you're hurt. Here, I'll take you with me and nurse you back to health," Kuon smiled as he stroked the black snake's head and placed it into the basket of food he had brought with him.

...

"Welcome home," Kuon announced as he opened the door to his small hut and placed the black snake on a table.

"You must be hungry, so I'll get you something to eat," Kuon said before he walked off towards his kitchen. Kyoko didn't reply back, but watched his retreating form thinking that he seemed familiar. It was almost as if she had seen him in a dream, but that man in her dreams had blonde hair and emerald eyes compared to the brown eyes and hair that this mortal had.

As Kyoko looked around the dingy hut, she wondered how a mortal could live so far away from civilization. She also wondered why a mortal looking like that was alone in the woods without a wife. He looked around 20 years old as a mortal, so she wondered where his family was since most men that age were already engaged if not married.

"You're in luck. I have some chicken that I got from the market this morning," Kuon said as he entered the room again. He sat down at the table and picked up a pair of chopsticks, picking up a piece of the raw chicken that he had brought with him. Kuon brought the food up to the black snake's mouth, but Kyoko quickly turned away.

'Snakes eat raw meat, but I don't,' Kyoko thought as Kuon kept trying to feed her the chicken.

"Please can you eat? You need to eat to recover from your injuries," Kuon said as he unleashed a set of puppy eyes on her. She froze in place and opened her mouth in awe at the cuteness. Kuon used the opportunity to bring the chicken to her mouth, and she reluctantly swallowed it. Kuon smiled at her and she felt her heart skip a beat. What was going on? Kyoko looked around her and saw a basket of fruit. She pointed her head towards it.

"I should have known. The snakes here are smart. You know what kinds of foods you like, don't you?" Kuon said as he took an apple out of the basket and went to cut it. When he returned, he grabbed the chopsticks again and Kyoko happily ate the fruit. Apples were way tastier than raw chicken.

After Kuon had finished feeding the snake, he left the room and came back with a bowl of crushed up medicinal herbs. He took a small spoon and started to apply it to the snake's wounds.

"I've used this mixture to heal small birds before, so hopefully it heals your wounds as well," Kuon reasoned.

'This herb is good for healing birds, but it doesn't work on snakes without mixing it with another indigenous mountain berry. By using it on me right now, my wounds will actually take longer to heal, but I appreciate your good intentions,' Kyoko tried to say, but then she realized that she couldn't speak to him as a snake.

After Kuon had finished applying the medicine, he smiled at the snake in front of him. "I'm glad that I've gotten to spend the day with you. You're much smarter than the birds that I usually bring home to nurse back to health. It was nice to take care of you today."

'Why would I need you to take care of me? I only need three days to return to my human form and return back to the heavens," Kyoko thought.

Kuon reached out his hand to stroke the snake's head and found two little horns.

"You're one of the cutest snakes I've ever met. There's even horns on your head," Kuon smiled as he bent down and kissed her horns. Kyoko recoiled instantly and felt herself heat up in a blush.

'How dare you! You're a mortal man and I'm the crown princess of all the heavens,' Kyoko thought. Kuon chuckled at the snake's reaction and picked her up, taking her with him to his bed and laying her next to his pillow.

"Actually, you should probably stay here to accompany me for a while since I brought you back. But if you need to leave, I won't stop you. Just don't have another owner, alright?" Kuon chuckled. Kyoko's mouth gaped open. Another owner?! She wasn't a pet!

"Goodnight, black snake," Kuon said as he pulled the covers over himself. Kyoko watched him for a while until his breathing slowed, letting her know that he had fallen asleep. She looked at his peaceful face, the moonlight seeping in through a window to illuminate his handsome features. Kyoko decided that there was nothing she could do until a few days had passed and she could change back to her human form, so she fell asleep next to Kuon.

...

"There's still some unrest from the North and South of tribes wanting to break away from the tribal alliance. We have sent soldiers to try to pacify the situation, but the other tribes are unwilling to offer their own soldiers to help. We must act, Empress Mogami," Saena's advisor said.

"There must be a way for us to unite the tribes," another advisor said. As they discussed possible solutions, Sho walked up to Saena and went into a kneeling bow in front of her, silencing all the conversations around him.

"Is there a reason you have disturbed this meeting, Fuwa-san?" Saena frowned at the boy kneeling in front of her. He took a deep breath before replying.

"I have a way to pacify all of the kingdoms," Sho replied.

"You have a way? What are you talking about?" Saena asked.

"Grant me the title of side consort. You would not be strengthening the power of any one tribe, and it would show everyone that Your Majesty values each and every tribe," Sho replied. Saena raised an eyebrow at his request.

"It would surely unite the tribes, but I'm already old. I don't have an interest in having lovers anymore. I mostly leave my other consorts to their own devices now. I will only hold you back," Saena replied.

"I want to do something equal to the sacrifice my tribe made years ago. The Sky Kingdom is in need of manpower and compliance from the rest of the tribes to pacify the North and South. I am willing to do this," Sho said.

"This is an important decision for your life. Are you sure?" Saena asked. Sho looked up at her with a determined face and said, "I am. I only ask of one favor. Please grant me one wish no matter what it is in the future."

Thank you for reading this chapter!

I have seen many other authors do this on their stories to interact more with readers, so I'm going to start replying to comments at the end of each chapter! I wanted to reply to the reviewers of chapters 1 and 2, but I'm afraid that it will be a little too much to write in this author's note. I vehemently appreciate each and every review, and I'm sorry that I'm not responding to those reviews right now.

Crazy4Animation: I'm glad you liked the twist! I hope you liked how Kyoko and Kuon met even though Kuon doesn't actually know that Kyoko is a human yet or his would be wife. About the manga, every month of waiting kills me a little inside especially last chapter with Ren coming back and the big cliffhanger at the end. Hopefully Kyoko and Ren realize that they're perfect for each other soon, but it'll probably be a couple more years with this update schedule. Thanks for reviewing each of my chapters so far! I really appreciate the time you took to write these reviews!

Guest: Glad you're excited to read more! Hope this chapter was enjoyable!

Paulagato: In my stories thus far, I've made Reino a villain because compared to Sho, I haven't seen him redeem himself much. Glad that you like him as the villain, but as seen in this chapter, you should also watch out for Sho's evil plans! Hope you liked Kyoko and Kuon's first meeting, and I'm glad you enjoyed last chapter! Thanks for your continuous reviews on my stories!