Matenou had to wait a long, long, LONG time for Matenshi to get back. He spent most of it aimlessly flying in circles around the outside of the castle, grumbling to himself about this and that, hoping to get all of his negative energy out before he spent time with his younger brother.
Matenou saw Matenshi and the other two kids approaching the castle gates, and he swooped down without hesitation to meet them.
"AAH!" Matenshi jumped when his brother suddenly appeared in front of them, kicking up dust as he landed. "What do you want?" Matenshi folded his arms and squinted into Matenou's eyes.
(Uh-uh. What did I tell you?) Meramelion waggled his finger at Matenshi, raising his arm effortlessly despite the shopping bags weighing it down.
Matenshi stuck his tongue out at Mera in response.
Zashiki looked back and forth between the two of them and sighed a bit, gripping onto his staff nervously. He hated bickering, and he had more than his fill of it in the last 24 hours.
"Look, I'm gonna cut right to the chase, I need to talk to you," Matenou crouched down and gave his brother what he hoped was a pleading look.
"You 'need' to take me home," Matenshi rested his fists on his hips and leaned forward until he was practically nose to nose with Matenou. "I explored the dumb kingdom, so now you're supposed to take me home!"
"Hey, listen up, you little-" Matenou ground his teeth, but caught himself, taking a deep breath as he gently pushed Matenshi's face away. "It's important."
"No way," Matenshi puffed out his cheeks and pointedly stuck up his nose.
Matenou sighed in resignation and Zashiki felt a twinge in his heart. He couldn't help but feel for the guy… and he wasn't the only one. Zashiki glanced quickly at Meramelion, who had his hand over his mouth, desperately trying not to yell at Matenshi to give his brother a chance.
Only one thing to do! Zashiki squared his shoulders and held his staff aloft. Even in daylight, it glowed brightly, and Zashiki inspirited Matenshi with ease.
Matenshi's body relaxed and he turned to Matenou, a small smile on his face. "Okay, fine, where did you wanna talk, big brother?"
Meramelion and Zashiki Warashin grinned at each other and high fived.
"Yesss...!" Matenou celebrated under his breath, pumping his fist. "Oh, here, get on my back!" Matenou turned around and gestured to right above where his wings were sprouting.
"Are we gonna fly?" Matenshi asked, hopping onto Matenou.
"Oh, you bet!" Matenou flapped his wings until he was a few inches off the ground, positioning his body horizontally so Matenshi could adjust himself. Matenshi sat right on his brother's shoulder blades, gripping onto Matenou's hair for support. "Hang on tight, I don't fly slow!" Matenou looked over his shoulder to give his brother a little grin. Without even acknowledging Zashiki or Meramelion, Matenou flapped his wings and took off into the air, kicking up a wind that nearly blew Meramelion's mane out.
Zashiki's staff stopped glowing and he let it fall to his side. "Do you think they'll be okay?" he asked, watching Matenou speed off.
('Course I do!) Meramelion flashed Zashiki a sharp-toothed grin and a big thumbs up.
"..." Zashiki eyed the gate, his brow furrowing. "... do you think they'll let us back in the castle?"
Meramelion's grin faltered for a moment, but it quickly returned. (...well, we won't know unless we try!)
Zashiki couldn't help letting a laugh slip. Meramelion's optimism was infectious!
"Why did you take me up here?!" Matenshi's heart was pounding hard; he never really considered himself afraid of heights, but being this high up and only supported by two fistfuls of his brother's hair was nerve wracking.
"Look, I'm not the 'sit still and talk' type, and I know you aren't either," Matenou kept his eyes ahead, both sets of his wings spread wide as he glided through the air. "I thought it'd be better if we were in motion. Keeps me from getting antsy, and I don't wanna snap at you."
"That's new," Matenshi grumbled.
"I don't know how to deal with kids, okay?!" Matenou huffed.
"I thought you said you weren't gonna snap at me!" Matenshi pouted, pulling on his brother's hair.
"Ow ow ow ow, don't!" Matenou hissed, clenching his teeth. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, okay?!"
"Hmph…" Matenshi's pout didn't go away, but he stopped tugging his brother's curls.
"I'll just cut to the chase… as much as I want you to stay here, I know you don't wanna." Matenou quickly glanced over his shoulder at Matenshi.
"Heck no!" Matenshi stuck his tongue out.
"... but I do really wanna catch up with you, kid." Matenou confessed, his cheeks tinged with an embarrassed red. "Maybe I could come live with you and your family."
"Heck no!" Matenshi shook his head like Matenou just asked him if he wanted to be thrown into a pit of acid.
"Thanks for letting me down easy…" Matenou snickered in spite of himself.
"No, no! Do you know how many siblings I have?" Matenshi shuddered at the thought of them having to deal with Matenou. "Some of them are super young! I have a four year old brother!"
"Oh God, I'd kill them," Matenou stated plainly.
"Yeah you would!" Matenshi ducked down reflexively; the two of them were flying through a forest and the last thing Matenshi wanted was to get decapitated by a branch. Lucky for him, Matenou was a skilled flyer and he was weaving through the trees with ease.
"Wait, your mom's friend…!" Matenou's eyes lit up. "Maybe I could go live with her! She lives really close to your mom! Plus that yokai roommate of hers…" Matenou couldn't help grinning. "She's cute, so, bonus!"
"Fuumin likes girls, Matenou," Matenshi rolled his eyes. "Even I know that."
"Eh," Matenou's grin didn't go away. "Win some, lose some."
"Also, Car already has a ton of yokai living with her," Matenshi mentally flipped through all their faces. "Plus you were super mean when you met her."
"She'd let me live there if a cute little boy asked her nicely," Matenou swooped lower as the two of them exited the forest, moving over a sweeping meadow filled with the eldritch flora of the yokai world. "I don't wanna keep being a di-um, a jerk to you, kid. Maybe it is better if we don't live together."
"Aren't you a king, though?" Matenshi asked, his eyes widening as one of the plants' vines shot up towards Matenou's ankle. Matenou pointed a finger at it and the vine was swiftly torn apart by a whirlwind. Matenshi couldn't help thinking that was cool… his brother really was a strong yokai…
"They'll be fine without me, I'm more of a figurehead than anything," Matenou snickered. "If I need to do any royal stuff, I'll just come back here for a little bit. It never, ever takes long. That's the beauty of my realm!"
"Okay, I'll ask her for you… and Zashiki can help out too," Matenshi sighed. "I kinda… I kinda wanna get along with you too. It's much better than fighting all the time."
For once in his life, Matenou was at a loss for words. He let a smile cross his lips and he turned to look at Matenshi. "I think so too."