CHAPTER TEN

Tobio was sleeping soundly when he felt the rustling under the covers of the bedding near him. He knew from a few days ago that Shouyo was sneaking out in the middle of night to train. Even though he wanted to take a peek, he restrained himself. If Shouyo is ready, he's sure that the man will ask Tobio to oversee his training on his own.

While Tobio knew this, at the back of his mind, he can't help but worry. No matter how much they slice the situation, Tobio was sure that Shouyo was confused as to what really went down that night. He could have told the man then and there, but how can he?

Was he supposed to say that his own brother doesn't think much of the man? Tobio couldn't possibly do that. Even if the redhead denies and tries to hide it, Tobio knew Shouyo misses his home, his friends, his lifestyle – his brother.

The Tengu doesn't have the heart to crush all that hope and longing.

"You can't sleep? Pipik."

Tobio reached out to the familiar resting on his lap and petted it . "No. Will you please look out for Shouyo for me?" Tobio asked. He knew the other familiar was already watching over the man, even so, he wanted Shou-chan there as well. Because of the little crows refreshing attitude, Shouyo might cheer up even for a little bit.

"He'll be much happier if you come and see him. I'm sure of it. Pik pik."

"You think so?"

The little crow nodded his head - almost his entire body - and the Tengu contemplated if he should. He wouldn't want to disrupt the man, and he honestly wouldn't want to intrude on him. But the curiosity on how the man was doing triumphed over and he decided to take a peek instead.

After getting dressed warmly, Tobio stretched for a bit before he went out of his quarters, there the guards stood by the door. He already assumed they were ordered to tell the Chief in case Tobio went out, but he said he just needed some fresh air and wouldn't be far away. Though reluctant, the guards agreed, seeing as they can't do anything if Tobio was so keen on doing so.

Tobio and the little crow walked silently towards where Shouyo would be training. He saw him immediately, firing from a different kind of Yumi. A questioning look over written all over his face, where did he get that? He thought.

"Good evening, Jirou-sama." Akaashi, Bokuto's aid, called out behind the Tengu. He nodded and continued watching. Shouyo had the little Tou-kun over his shoulder and it looked like he was coordinating with the familiar.

"He's doing fairly well. Bokuto-sama made that bow for him. Since he's not good with swords, he personalized Shouyo-sama's weapon." Akaashi said.

"Hmm. I understand, but how is that going to help Shouyo?" The bow itself looked heavy. Usually, the Yumi is a bamboo bow; long and lean, but the one Shouyo was using was thick, there's a crease in the middle, perfectly fitted the palm of the redhead. It looked heavy and inefficient for a bowman Shouyo's height and built.

"Just watch." Akaashi had a hard time explaining himself. So they decided to watch from a far and let the man concentrate on what he is doing.

The look on the redhead's eyes was new to Tobio. He hasn't seen it before. Was the man always like this?

Shouyo was concentrating on the target; Ya aimed and steady. The sound of the string being stretched sounded different from the traditional Yumi Tobio was used to. This one looked like it was hard to pull, since the bow itself was thick at the center. Shouyo crouched down and locked on the target.

There he was, Bokuto with the same bow as Shouyo. He fired two Ya at once, and though from their view, the Yajiri (arrow head) used by Bokuto were the bifurcated ones, (Karimata) it can still cause damage if one is not careful enough.

While Shouyo just crouched there, Tobio saw the man's eyes were focused on one thing, yet the Tengu's body moved on its own, wanting to save the man.

Akaashi beside Tobio held him by the shoulder. - "Watch." the retainer said.

Though he knew that he was being impertinent - Tobio is still the son of the Chief of the Tengus after all - he still wanted to cheer up on the little man his Master took a liking for.

Shouyo then fired one Ya, with trained eyes, the shot was perfectly executed. One Ya the owl-man fired was hit by Shouyo's. It bounced off and hit the other Ya, effectively killing its movement.

One Ya from the redhead. One Ya was all it took, and now he got two arrows from the owl. The Karimata Yas lay on the ground, Tobio thought the redhead would go for it and keep it as his own. After all, his quiver can only hold 26 Ya. It would be impossible to prolong a battle with that kind of ammunition.

Usually, Yumitora keep fighting behind supporting the Spear men or Swordsmen in front. There were also Samurai Warriors who fought in front while carrying Yumi, but those warriors also carry their Katana, ready to fight and cut when the bows run out.

What about Shouyo? He was training with the bow, but in a normal battle, this won't help him much. He lived his life too pampered to actually be battle ready.

Yet the man was fighting fiercely with the winged creature. That was rather a surprise. Who knew the gentle human; most of the time airhead and dazing out, twirling around like when he wore something beautifully printed, kimono and or others -would actually be this serious looking in a battle mode?

Tobio felt a chill.

Was it a good thing? He can't answer just yet.

The winged owl shot few of his feathers, throwing it like dagger. It might as well be, the sound coming from it almost mimicked the sound when one rips a fabric.

Shouyo would die if one of them hits him..

"Gwaaah!" the man made an indefinable noise and moved forward with a magnificent jump.

The suspense was quite high, especially since Tobio's eyes can perfectly see what was coming.

"Tou-kun!" the man shouted.

"Oya!" the little crow roared, he flew above the man and Shouyo shoulder rolled to his left, evading the attack.

Tobio's heart was beating fiercely. He noticed something was off and almost leaped in front.- "That idiot!" he said through his gritted teeth.

It appeared as though Shouyo forgot to bring his quiver and lunged forward, towards the creature with obvious upper hand as he had.

The owl threw a few feathers again, this time Tobio was sure that one or two of them will actually hit Shouyo. The moment he wanted to shout, the redhead interrupted him instead.

"NOW!"

Shouyo held his bow in front and used it as a bat to fend off the feathers. The yumi made a 'fwosh' sound as the tiny human made contact with the feathers, effectively thwarting the offense. When he was done, the little crow on top of him threw two Ya from its beak. Though the crow was small, it is still molded after Tobio, that said, it was inevitable that the little guy was strong-and he threw with precision and strength.

Shouyo then caught the bow midair as he was jumping again-almost like he was made for this. The eyes were focused on Bokuto's movement; the redhead then fire one Ya, and it almost grazed the owl.

Though it was a miss, the fact that Shouyo was able to let the owl-man dodge was a thing to celebrate on its own.

"Hoho? Good one!" Bokuto smirked and flew a bit higher, Shouyo then shouted-"..One more time!" with glee. He was already panting, but he was glad that he can see the attacker clearer than the first time he trained. It's good that he had some guidance now. Also, the little crow molded after Tobio himself was a good training partner. The little Shou-chan, however, was a bit of distraction whenever he was present.

"I see." Tobio understood, Shouyo's movement was fairly free, because he didn't bring the quiver with him; the new Yumi was big and heavy enough, not to mention drawing of bows was a hassle to the fumbling and uncoordinated bowman. Instead, he lets the little guy fly above, toss him the bow to wherever he will land and fire at will.

There was also the fact that the bow itself can be a substitute to a sword. Only it was lighter than a real one. One can use it to hit, and dodge an attack. It might not be fatal, but the user can buy time and save his life as well.

The weapon was well crafted, the Tengu admitted that. As expected of Bokuto, he thought.

The two were starting with the second round of attack when the rain started to pour. The wind was strong earlier and Tobio expected a shower, but not this instant.

"Hoot." Bokuto made a call, he relaxed his wings and landed firmly.

Tobio, however, felt pissed for the redhead was tugging the clothes of the said owl, moving with such familiarity.

"OI! Idiot! What is your brain for?! It's raining and it's the middle of the night! Think!" Tobio shouted, startling the man.

"Beh!" Shouyo was startled getting caught, and he didn't expect the Tengu to actually come out and spy on him. He rushed towards where the Tengu was, Bokuto covering his head-shielding the man from the rain droplets with his big wings.

"Bokuto-sama, we need to rest for tonight." Akaashi said, nodding his head towards the Prince as a sign of respect.

"Good night, Shrimp. See you tomorrow." Bokuto cheerfully said, not at all minding the fact that the Tengu was wearing a deadly glower. The two owls drifted on to their own and talked animatedly while they were walking towards their quarters.

Tou-kun immediately flew towards Shou-chan, two crows chirping loudly as they hopped on the floorboards.

'They must've been using their little crow language when it's just the two of them. How.. cute.' Shouyo thought, smile on his face as he see those little butts hopping around.

Tobio, however, was silently walking. Shouyo following the Tengu closely, while Tobio just crossed his arms in front while he walked.

He wasn't happy that Shouyo, just in a span of a few days, already had skinship towards the owl. He really wasn't.

When they entered their quarters, the Tengu removed Shouyo's outer garments.

"Hey! Wait! What?!" the man blushed till his ears, fidgeting as the said Tengu stripped him off.

"Change your clothes, the rain looks like it's not going to stop soon." He then threw the Prince a towel to dry himself off.

Shouyo, by then, can't stop himself from panting a bit heavy. Ever since that kiss that night, he wasn't the same. He couldn't sit still, his heart was racing even with the slightest touch of the Tengu's skin.

"Thank you." he said, diverting his eyes on the two birds preening on their own cot made from fabric and dried leaves.

He went to the drawers he use and took out his sleeping clothes, at least by now he can dress himself unlike the first time he was here.

After he dried himself and his feet wiped clean, he rest the wash basin to the sides, Tadashi or Ittetsu will pick that up later, he thought.

There was silence between them, the rain is heavily pouring to the roof. Shouyo under the covers can already see his breath forming fog. It's really cold and uncomfortable, even wearing his socks didn't cut it for him for tonight was a teeth chattering cold night.

"Haa..." He breathed out on his hands and rubbed it briskly, afraid that he might wake up the sleeping Tengu near him.

"Ah, so annoying!" the Tengu flipped his own cover and removed Shouyo's.

"Waah!"

The Tengu hovered on top of the man, pressed the man's lips and whispered -"..scream and I'll kill you."

The man whimpered but nodded, there was nothing he could do even he was frozen scared and stiff. Tears were forming in his eyes. He was scared of this Tobio- perhaps he did something wrong to make the Tengu mad, he questioned himself. Yet, what is happening now? What does this Tengu intend to do while being on top of him?

'Does he intend to do something perverted?'

Shouyo gasped at the thought. The birds he'd wanted to save him were already deep in sleep, snoring lightly.

He looked at the Tengu whose eyes he cannot see, for it was dark and the Tengu's hair was in its way. Then the said one opened his wings and lifted Shouyo.

"Gyaah!"

"I told you to be quiet." the Tengu warned the man, which made the other one whimper once more. There were times when he was fighting the crow face to face, and at times like this, it's be best for him to just do as he was told.

Shouyo thought Tobio had the habit of lifting him like a woman and he was rather annoyed, though this was not the time to think of such things. He was nervous, vile rising from his throat. How can he escape this?

Though he was shocked that the Tengu was rather gentle, not an inkling of shame on his face.

What's more surprising was that Tobio lay first on his futon, dragging Shouyo, forcing the man to lay on top of him. He then draped his wings wrapping around the man before he grabbed the covers and covered them together under the bigger futon.

"Wait!" Shouyo was confused and embarrassed. He doesn't know what to make of this. This was clearly messing his rhythm and muddling his emotions up.

"Your noise is uncomfortable and annoying. It's only going to be colder later. You'll die here if I don't do this. My wings aren't itchy, right?" The Tengu whispered on the man's ears. Because Shouyo was constrained on top of the said creature, he felt Tobio's chest vibrated through the words. The warm breathe lingered on his skin. His ears were now hot, feeling the shame of sharing one bed with another person.

How can the Tengu remain calm was the question. There wasn't any indication that Tobio was nervous about this. He was just hugging the man for the warmth he truly needed, that's all.

There was something sad about the situation, leaving the Prince questioning about his feelings. It felt like he was being swayed and tossed around while the other one was just casually doing things as he pleases.

This made Shouyo somewhat unhappy.

'Wait a minute! Wait! What am I expecting here?!'

'He was helping me, and I can't even find myself to say thanks?'

'What's happening? My heart can't calm down!'

'Gyaah! So embarrassing!'

Shouyo started with his internal monologue, fidgeting as he did.

"That's.. what are you doing? Don't move so much, my wound is not fully healed you know. Your weight won't matter much though." The Tengu sighed. He knew that this might be uncomfortable, so he let the man lay on the futon.

"Turn to the side." Tobio asked, facing the man was rather difficult for him. He was quite aware how Shouyo talks in his sleep, and he noticed how the man looked incredibly peaceful while he does. This could cause some problems, for his heart felt uneasy seeing so.

"Okay." was all Shouyo could say, he was already feeling warm though. He wouldn't even imagine himself being on his own futon again. He gladly faced the wall, his back towards the Tengu. After a few seconds of adjusting himself, the Tengu collapsed his wings and wrapped his own arm around the smaller creature, spooning him.

"Ahm. Tobio-sama, I'm really uncomfortable with us being like this. This might be different from your stand view and culture, but us humans, or at least for the people in the palace, can't sleep with someone unless they are your wife-your lover. I think I'll just ask Ittetsu-san to get me more covers." he tried to wriggle out of the Tengu's hold but it was futile.

"You really hate my hold that much, huh? Yet you let Bokuto-sama wrapped his feathers around you." the Tengu mumbled.

Shouyo was caught by surprise.

What was that about? The man asked himself. He turned to face that Tengu-and lucky that some of the light from outside shone a bit and he saw the Tengu's sulky face.

"Pffft." Shouyo can't helped but burst a giggle, which the other one replied by a jab on the man's side.

"Sorry, somehow your face is funny." Shouyo whispered. He didn't know why was he whispering though. Was it because some guards might hear them? And if so, was that a bad thing? Those were remained unanswered in his head for now.

"I was born with this face, you rude midget." Tobio said, still, his arm was wrapped securely on the man. He should be repulsed, in fact, a few days ago, the normal reaction he'd show was to kick the man out and leave him on his own. Yet here he was, hugging the man like it was normal-easy as breathing.

"Hmm." Shouyo smiled some more, comforted enough that he was slipping out of consciousness, preparing for a good night sleep. The smell of the Tengu was rather familiar, and the Tengu could say the same thing as well, for the redhead's hair was soft and smelled like the flowers that bloomed near the place where the man held his practices.

Tobio liked it.

"Good night." the Prince called out, and the Tengu hummed through his nose as a response.

After the man fell asleep, face looking really funny, the Tengu clicked his tongue and wiped the drool off the man's face.

"I hope you know, you're the only one that made me this way. You should be honored."

Tobio was talking about the fact that the man was allowed in his arms, invading his personal space. What's more, this said human was the only one who occupied his mind so much—also the only one who made his heart race like there's no tomorrow.

"I hope I get some sleep." Tobio's lips curled an unfamiliar expression as he patted the man's side when the redhead clenched his shirt and wrapped his leg around the Tengu.

.

"Morning." Tobio miraculously greeted his family at breakfast with Shouyo beside him.

"Ohh. Good morning." The Chief was startled and greeted back, however, Ichirou snickered before he greeted back.

They ate in silence as usual, some talks about the concerns in the Village, but nothing too descriptive for there was a human present with them.

Shouyo didn't mind, after all, when he dined with his brother as well as the Emperor himself, they also tiptoed around the man when it comes to things such as this.

"There's also news that Tsukishima woke up. Bokuto-sama already took a look at him and said he'd be fine, just a month of rest and he'd be back to walking around. He got lucky." The Chief said and Shouyo's face felt warm, an unknown happiness welling inside him.

He didn't like that particular Tengu, but the said one was a good friend to Tadashi, and he can see that his aid was doing his best to cheer up. He was glad for him and also for Tobio as well. He heard the golden haired Tengu saved Tobio's life. For that, Shouyo thought there was no doubt Tobio was blaming himself for what happened. At least now they can relax.

After the meal was done, Tobio returned to his usual activities off late: Review the military reports, held a meeting with a few Tengus, walked towards the training grounds and see the children from the school.

Shouyo on the other hand was practicing like usual. His hands were sore and wrapped with bandages. He didn't mind much, he was genuinely enjoying everything. When Ittetsu came to give him his snacks before lunch, he was asked if he can come to Tsukishima's room, for the said Tengu was ready telling his side of the story. Shouyo felt chills for some reason but agreed; after all, Tobio will be there for him.

The said time came, he was nervous and stood beside Tobio as they entered the quarters. Bokuto together with his aid was almost done redressing Tsukishima's wound. The Chief with Ichirou and his aid were there as well. They nodded before they went inside and sat along.

"So, how are you feeling?" The Chief started, staring at the Tengu's chest. The wound has no foul smell unlike the first day, and the said Tengu's complexion was better too.

"I'm feeling better, though I wish I could eat something solid soon." he replied.

They exchanged a few question about how he is feeling now before they got to the main topic.

"I was the one who sent the note Shouyo-sama wanted to send to his brother, though you can already guess that the mail cannot be delivered face to face. What I did was send it over to their guard look out post. I transformed into a crow and rested near your brother's office, though I did not see if it was in fact, delivered to him. Unlike Jirou-sama.. I mean, Tobio-sama, we Tengu's cannot maintain our animal form for long. Suppressing our strength in that tiny body is stressful as it is." the golden haired Tengu continued to speak in that half bored, half sleepy tone.

"After a day, we found a note that asked us to go to some plain to talk. The letter had the Prince's seal itself. My squad confirmed it's authenticity before we went out and send it to Tobio-sama. Soon after, we; Tobio-sama and I, went to the said place to check for ambush and such. The place was safe enough.

"The next day, as you can recall, Tobio-sama along with us, his squad, went to the said place. The air was strong, an unusual wind blew towards us. That night was cloudless, you see. For that gale to come out of nowhere was an indication of something sinister.

"We then flew higher, just to be sure we weren't being tricked. But as if the enemy knew we're doing just that, the air smelled like poison. A poison specific to target creatures with wings, animals and us alike." he pointed his finger to himself and the rest of the people present inside his room before he continued.

"Because Tobio-sama was a fast flyer, he was already high enough so that poison didn't affect him much. Unlike us. We were plummeted to earth faster, our wings were sealed off in that instance. Knowing full well that we cannot fly, Tobio-sama managed to summon a creature to ask for backup. We all knew by then, we were ambushed."

Shouyo clenched his clothes as he listened carefully. He cannot believe what he just heard.

"After that, there was a shower of arrows. Some of my men who hasn't regained their composure were hit. Some aren't lucky to survive." Tobio added. There was silence in the room and the atmosphere was heavy. The retainers that were serving tea had a pained look on their faces. Unlike the warriors, they were a bit showy with their feelings.

"By then when Tobio-sama landed, he exchanged blows with your brother." Tsukishima addressed Shouyo.

"I was also hit that time, but I didn't feel the pain. Tobio-sama gave us an order, 'Live. Help was on its way.' he said, so we did. We fought and it was hard. It seemed as though they knew what and how to kill us. Yes, kill. There was never an intention to let us live." Tsukishima gritted his teeth, and Shouyo felt his spine shiver.

"Did you tell him already?" Tsukishima asked Tobio and the latter shook his head.

"Tell me what?" Shouyo asked, all eyes were on him and it was uncomfortable.

"Shouyo-sama, as we were exchanging blows with your bro-

"That's enough!" Tobio warned, he really didn't want the redhead to know what went down that night. He has no heart to. He doesn't need to know, is what the Tengu thought, but it was clear that the man wanted to hear, no matter how painful the truth was.

"Tch. Fine! Do what you want."

Tsukishima drank some water before he spoke again. "Your brother wanted to control the clan, he said 'Relinquish your mastership over to me, and I will put your power to good use. Unlike my stupid, useless brother.' His exact words."

Shouyo shook his head and laughed out loud. "No, you're lying. My brother won't say that. He's a good man."

"And yet here we are." Tsukishima pointed his wounds, Tobio's bandages and the redhead felt silent.

"He also said, if not, he will launch a war against us, driving the Tengu's to extinction. He added he knew how to kill us, which for me, was not an empty threat. I will not go into other details, but one thing is for sure—Shouyo-sama, your brother wanted to use that power you have, to control you and Tobio-sama. Other than that, he doesn't think much of you. Because when Tobio-sama refused, he was already prepared to kill him, knowing full well that that might kill you too."

"NO! You're wrong! He's not like that! You liar! My brother wouldn't do any-

-thwack-

Shouyo was slapped by Tobio to calm the man down -for Shouyo was already lunged forward ready to grab Tsukishima. Shouyo was surprised and a bit hurt, confused as to what has happened. He cannot believe it, he refused to.

He stood up, not excusing himself and went out running. Ittetsu was about to run after the man, but the Chief held him back and shook his head.

"There's something that bothered me with your story.." Bokuto who was miraculously silent, now spoke.

"Hm?" Tsukishima looked at him.

"You see, if he was really looking forward to 'control' Jirou and the clan itself, wouldn't it be logical to just play nice and manipulate the brother? From the start, the plan was to plummet you all to your deaths, is that right? If so, why bother with the exchange of words?" the owl man questioned them that surprised everyone, for the said being was known to being happy most of the time.

"That's true, that was rather odd." Ichirou added.

"It seems to me.. ah no, never mind.."

They all stared at the owl, quite annoyed that he wanted to be forced to speak again.

"Please, continue Bokuto-sama, we wanted to hear your theory." Akaashi said.

"Yes, please." The Chief added.

"Ah, I see. You wanted to hear my theory. Of course, ahahaha!" feeling rather inappropriately proud of himself, the owl continued after clearing his throat.

"You see, I think they failed in killing you all, for that, they wanted some kind of an alternative plan. You said you were shot poison right? What they didn't know was that higher Tengus of military were given small doses of poison every now and then so they become immune, correct?"

Tobio nodded.

"See? The poison from air failed, the poison from the arrows also failed, somewhat." Bokuto pausing because some indeed died from that.

"But Jirou was standing tall, together with Tsukishima. After all, they were only humans, yes? No matter what, they will become overpowered if one was not careful. That said, he targeted the thing that is most vulnerable to you." Bokuto slowly raised his finger, the tension was high and Tobio gulped his saliva audibly.

"Your heart."

The owl said.

"I don't understand." Tobio tilted his head, questioning the Master what does he mean.

"Are you really sure you don't understand? When the man mentioned Shouyo, weren't you confused instantly? Flustered? You didn't want to hurt him, yes? That's why you didn't tell him the truth.." Bokuto then added- "..That man attacked you in the way that'd hurt you the most."

All of them felt silent.

"Good thing you were fast enough to ask for help. You'd die there for sure if the second squad and Ichirou's squad didn't come to your aid." Bokuto smirked, he was smug enough to rub the truth to the confused Tengu's face.

"No. He will not kill me, he did say he wanted the power.." Tobio tried to reason out, but Akaashi intervened.

"No. That'd be a lie. I helped tending all of your wounds. All of it, were intended to kill you. You were skilled and lucky enough to be breathing, that's all." the owl closed his eyes and shook his head. He hated to tell the ugly truth as well.

"So you mean to tell me that was a ruse? Kill us all was their intention? Is that it?" The Chief gritted his teeth, he was rather fuming now, and Ittetsu beside him sat in silence. He cannot put caps on this one, for it'd be ugly if he did.

"I don't know. All I know was that, this was not a coincidence; everything was tied up like a perfectly orchestrated detail.. This I'm sure, someone or something was moving along to help the humans or pretending to be humans.." Bokuto nodded in appreciation for his well thought hypothesis.

.

"But, Shouyo-sama, I can't possibly lift you up!" Tadashi understood what was being asked of him, however, he has no strength to actually carry the man from the village back to his palace.

"I need to talk to my brother, please help me." Shouyo pleaded.

"Is there something wrong?" Iwaizumi heard the commotion and approached the two. Yamaguchi was panicking and bowed deeply, after all, Iwaizumi serves in the Military Office as well. "Good evening, Iwaizumi-san."

"Oh." The Tengu said. He looked at the human whose eyes were red, probably from crying too much.

"Good Evening, Shouyo-sama. Would you like to have dinner at the library instead? I can arrange that for you. We have full moon tonight, that place has the best view." Iwaizumi tried to cheer him up, which is working a bit.

"That sounds lovely, thank you. Will you join me, Iwaizumi-san?" Shouyo asked though he know he'd be refused to.

"I would love to." Iwaizumi added.

"EH?" Shouyo and Yamaguchi were shocked and the Tengu chuckled.

"I'll see you there in a bit." He asked the freckled face Tengu to guide Shouyo while he fetched the food.

After a few minutes of wait, the said Tengu came with trays of food, few maids behind him with the remaining food and drinks. There was also sake and the redhead smiled at him.

At first they were just eating, discussing books written there. Surprisingly, Iwaizumi isn't the angry character Shouyo thought he would be. He was rather stern with Ichirou, but that was because the said Tengu needed someone like Iwaizumi by his side. Shouyo, by then, remembered his aids, Tanaka and Nishinoya.

How are they? Are they being punished? All these questioned swell from his chest and he started to cry again.

"I can take you there." Iwaizumi offered. He knew Shouyo must've questions he'd rather ask his brother first hand.

"Are you sure?"

Iwaizumi nodded and added- "We have to tell Ichirou-sama first. So they won't worry too much."

"I give you permission." Ichirou was peeking from the Library window, butting in the conversation.

"Hey, Shirmp." he greeted and the said man greeted back curtly.

"Are you sure, Ichirou-sama?" Iwaizumi asked.

"Of course, I trust Iwa-chan to take care of Chibi, and I also trust in your judgement. Only for two hours, though. If you're not back after, I will tell Jirou-chan and Father. Understood?"

"Thank you." Shouyo sniffled as he said these words to Ichirou.

Shouyo continued eating while the two Tengus drank away. He wasn't going to stop Iwaizumi even though they'd be flying later. He knew the Tengu knows his limits better, and he looked like he was responsible enough. After he finished his food, Shouyo said his goodbyes so he can prepare himself. When he looked back he saw the two whose face were close—too close for comfort.

Shouyo's face was bright red, walking faster towards his room.

If the two were kissing, or just checking each other's temperature, he still thought that was too intimate. He suddenly felt embarrassed, he doesn't know how to look at those two innocently ever again.

.

a/n; sorry for the late update,. sh** happened

~nobody guessed it correctly, who are those 'white birds' XD anyway, sorry- the next chapter is up in an hour or so. ^^ thanks latha for proofreading this chapter. ^^

~i'll apologize in advance if i cant reply on your comments. my net is limited, you see.