Pinkshuchan: Hey guys! Pinkshuchan here! After taking a little break and beating Kingdom Hearts III, I have now come back with the next chapter! Enjoy!

Chapter 27

The Experiments

It didn't take long for Aichi and Kai to recover from being sick. They had mostly recovered the very next day, sneezing every once in a while. However, Tsukiko was adamant on making sure the two males didn't overexert themselves while they were still recovering. Despite that though, they were able to get a lot more done than they did the previous day. Tsukiko figured with the way things were going, even if they haven't always gone smoothly, they should be well prepared to perform on the 27th.

As soon as rehearsal was done, Aichi immediately made his way to Kai, requesting they go pick up some stuff on their way home. Kai was puzzled as to what the blue haired boy could possibly want that they didn't already have at hand, but Aichi seemed determined to get them no matter what. Eventually, Kai gave in and they went to the nearby store on their way home.

If he wasn't confused already before they got to the store, Kai was most certainly after Aichi picked up everything he wanted to get. The brunet saw the items the younger male chose (he was the one that was going to pay for them) but he had no idea what Aichi wanted with all of them. They went straight home with everything they bought, and as soon as they were inside and they had taken their shoes off, Kai finally asked what it was the winged male was planning.

Aichi smiled at the taller male as he pulled out one of the items; a small candle. He then walked over to the kitchen and took out one of the pots before filling it with water. With everything in hand, he placed the pot onto the ground, sat down, and gestured for Kai to sit across from him. Kai had no idea what was going on, but he did what was asked of him anyway, figuring the blue haired male would finally explain himself if he did.

He lifted the candle up so it was in Kai's line of sight. "Kai, if you don't mind, I would like you to blow on this candle."

The brunet just stared at the candle. He had no idea why he was being asked to blow a candle without any flame but he just shrugged it off and blew. When he looked back up, Aichi let out a chuckle as he shook his head.

"I meant for you to light this candle with your fire breath." The blue haired boy explained.

Kai raised an eyebrow. "What is this all about? Why buy a candle and ask me to light it when you can light it by other means?"

"Please, Kai." Aichi asked. "I promise I will explain after. I need you to trust me on this."

There was only silence. After a minute, the older male let out a loud, drawn out sigh as he took the candle from the other male's hand and let out a small breath, a tiny flame flowing out and lighting the candle. He then handed it back to Aichi carefully.

"Thank you." said Aichi. "Now close your eyes."

The older male didn't question anything and just closed his eyes. If Aichi wanted him to trust him then that was what he would do. He only wished he knew what was going on. It didn't take long before he heard the other male's voice called back to him.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now."

Kai did just that. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was the blue haired male staring down at something, muttering; "It's just as I thought." Kai looked down to where Aichi's line of sight was only to be caught off guard with what he saw in front of him.

The candle that Kai lit up with his own flame had submerged in the pot filled with water, and the most shocking of it all was how the flame was still burning strongly underwater. How was it able to do that?

"The flames you create are not like any other flame." Aichi spoke up. "It seemed like it was when you dropped the burning tissue into the water in the sink yesterday, but then everything with the flames on your arm happened. And with this, I think I know what it is. Kai, your flames won't go out with water as long as you don't want them to."

"But that doesn't make any sense." Kai responded. "Fire that can go out whenever I wish it? Water can't put it out? How is that possible?"

The younger male shook his head. "I don't know. But this experiment has shown that appears to be the case."

"I know." The brunet ran his fingers through his hair as he stared at the candle. "It's just hard to believe." He looked back up at the other male. "What led you to want to do this?"

Aichi averted his gaze as he fiddled with his fingers. "Well… I wanted to help you learn more about yourself. Was it bad for me to do so?"

"No! Not at all!" Kai exclaimed; a little flustered. He had no idea how to respond to these affectionate gestures the winged male had done for him. Never before had he truly felt loved; not even Miwa and Tsukiko with all the kindness they showered on him could ever get this close. He was unable to contain the smile that grew on his face. "You could've told me though…"

Cerulean eyes looked up. "I didn't think it would work as effectively if I did." He scratched his head. "Though… I guess it would've been better if you had known beforehand… Sorry…"

Kai chuckled. "It's fine." He brought his hand on top of Aichi's and ruffled the blue locks, giving the latter a gentle, loving smile. "Thank you… for caring for me."

It was Aichi's turn to get flustered; his cheeks a bright crimson. "O-Of course! I-I mean… I love you, Kai… A-And I want to do anything… that'll make you happy, you know?"

"I know." Kai lowered his hand so it was now caressing the blue haired male's cheek. "I'd do the same for you." He moved around the pot so he was sitting beside the smaller male and pulled him into an embrace, gently pressing a kiss on his lips. Aichi reciprocated the kiss, pulling the older male closer so there was barely any distance. They continued their loving gesture until Aichi remembered something and pulled away.

"I think before we forget…" He looked over to the candle in the pot. "We should do something about that flame first."

Not long after he said that, the flame went out. Aichi's worry turned into curiosity. He looked back at Kai, who didn't appear to be shocked. So it didn't have to be a verbal want. Who knew what else the brunet was capable of?

"So now what?" Kai spoke up.

"What do you mean?" Aichi asked.

"I paid for them so I know all the stuff you got. Are they all to test what I can do?"

The blue haired boy looked at the bag he put on the bed before looking back at the boy holding him. "Well… some of them are. Others are for…"

"For…?"

"... Precautionary measures. N-Not that I will need to use them! It's… just in case…"

Kai could tell the younger male was trying not to offend him. However, he couldn't blame him for considering it. The last time Kai went out of control, he bit Aichi and left some strange mark. Who knew what would happen if he lost control again? He couldn't deny that he was scared of the possibility. As much as he was happy to be by Aichi's side again, he was terrified of the prospect that he could hurt him again, and he was worried that next time the young prince would not want anything to do with him anymore.

"If… you're uncomfortable with it," Aichi continued, "We don't have to. I just thought… maybe…"

Suddenly, he felt larger hands take his own into them. Aichi was caught off guard from the sudden action and the determined teal eyes that gazed at him. But the most surprising was the thing Kai said once he got the winged male's attention.

"Let's do it."

Cerulean eyes widened. "Are you sure?"

Kai nodded. "I need to know what it is that I can do. Maybe by doing this, I can have better control of myself; learn more about what it is I truly am. I don't want to hurt anyone anymore."

Aichi tightened his grip on the older male's hands as his expression mirrored Kai's. "Alright. Let's do it!"

And so, they were both mutually in agreement. Kai smiled. "So what's next on the agenda?"

The blue haired male let go of the other male's hands and lifted on of his own up, pointing to his index finger. "It's gonna sound crazy, but I want you to breathe fire on your finger."

Teal eyes widened as the taller male pulled away. "Wait, what?!"

"When you accidentally sneezed on your arm, you didn't notice the flames until I pointed them out." the prince explained. "I want to see how it's possible."

He had a point. They had no idea how Kai couldn't feel his arm burning. Was it similar to how his flames wouldn't go out from water? They needed to look into everything they could; explore every aspect of Kai's powers and abilities to learn more about who he was and how he was capable of such things. The brunet took a deep breath before softly blowing on his finger, not wanting the flames to flow too far and accidentally hit something it shouldn't. Even if he could put it out just by willing it, he wished to avoid any unnecessary damage as little as it may be.

His finger was lit with a crimson flame that burned brightly against his pale skin. Both males stared at it, mesmerized with the sight. After a small bit of time had passed, Aichi was the first to snap out of his stupor and cleared his throat, getting Kai's attention. "So how does it feel? Any pain or discomfort?"

The older male shook his head. "Nothing like that. I can feel a bit of heat but aside from that, I don't feel anything."

Aichi leaned closer to examine the flame. He could feel the heat himself; so tender and comforting. He wouldn't mind sleeping beside such a warmth. A thought then occurred to him; could the flame be touched by anyone beside Kai? He brought his finger up and moved it closer until it touched the flame. Upon contact, the blue haired male let out a loud yelp as he burned his fingertip. Alarmed, Kai let out the flame and closed the distance with his lover.

"Are you alright?!" he asked out of concern.

The winged male looked up at the other male, a reassuring smile on his face as he brought the burnt finger up to his other hand and began using his healing magic. "I'm fine." he replied, his voice a little shaken up. "It's just a slight burn. But now we know that aside from some details, it burns like any other flame." It didn't take long for the burn to be fully healed. Aichi brought his finger up and showed Kai that everything was okay. Not long after, Aichi's smile faded as he realized something. "That would mean that you yourself are immune to fire. But if that's the case… then something doesn't add up."

Kai didn't need to be told what it was. As soon as his possible immunity was brought up, he realized it himself. He took off his shirt, exposing his burns and examined them. "If I'm truly immune to fire, I shouldn't have these burns."

Aichi nodded. "And I don't think it's possible to develop an immunity to fire, or at least I've never heard of something like that happening."

"So then why?" Kai looked down at his hands. "Why do I have these burns? Where did they come from?"

The younger male looked down at the ground. "I don't know… I'm sorry…"

He felt a hand tilted his head up as he made eye contact with the brunet. Kai smiled at the smaller male. "Well, that's what we're trying to figure out, right? Every mystery that surrounds me…"

"Yeah, but even so-!"

"We can take our time." With his other hand, Kai took the smaller hand into his once again, rubbing the back with his thumb. "Even if the answer isn't clear now, it will eventually. Until then, we should focus on what we can figure out."

Aichi smiled back. If Kai wasn't that worried about the burns, then he shouldn't be too. He was right; they needed to focus on the stuff they can about Kai's abilities. Cerulean eyes drifted onto the half burnt chest in front of him. His free hand roamed up Kai's stomach and ran across the broad chest. There was something about it that drew Aichi in; how it looked nice even with the burns marked on it, how good it felt to touch, the way he could feel the heat radiating off of it, especially around where his heart was. Thinking about it, it felt like he was resting his hand against a flame not unlike the flames Kai was able to produce.

"Something you like?"

The blue haired male snapped out of his thoughts as he looked back up at the older male. The latter had an amused smirk on his face. Aichi's cheeks turned red. He tried to give an excuse but no words would come out. He was embarrassed that he was caught. He couldn't help it though. He was drawn to Kai's chest. There was something about it that made him feel safe and secure whenever he rested against it. Even if he tried, he wouldn't be able to describe this euphoric feeling.

Kai chuckled. He was sure his past self would never believe him if he told him that there would be someone in his life that brought him such bliss. He then moved his hand that was on Aichi's chin off and ran it up and down the prince's cheek as he caressed it. As his hand moved downward, he accidentally went down too much and it landed on the side of his neck. Aichi jumped from the sudden contact and, with a panicked yelp, he slapped the bigger hand away. Kai was caught off guard from the sudden action but was able to recollect himself just as quick.

"Sorry…" Kai responded.

Aichi gasped in realization. "Oh, no! You didn't do anything wrong! I shouldn't have slapped your hand away like that…"

"But you wouldn't be this way if not for me…" The older male looked down on the ground. "If I have learned to control myself sooner…"

Before he could say anymore, Aichi wrapped his arms around him tightly. "It's fine, Kai. What's done is done…"

Kai sighed as he rested one of his hands on the smaller male's back. The two of them just seemed to love playing the 'It's my fault' game. It had just become a habit to them at this point. That didn't mean Kai could stop feeling the way he did though.

Just as he was thinking that, Aichi lifted his head so they made eye contact with each other once again. Cerulean eyes stared meekly up at the older male, filling the latter with so much emotion. He could not get over how precious the younger male was.

'He's mine…' A voice within Kai spoke. 'I'll never let him go…'

Before Kai could wonder where the voice came from and why it was saying such things, a familiar smell came back to him. With each whiff, he could feel his thoughts fading away. It became harder to think, and it terrified him.

Aichi stared in worry as he saw teal eyes slowly turn into the gold eyes he feared. "Kai!" he cried out. "Please snap out of it!"

But his pleadings fell on deaf ears. The moment gold eyes focused on the winged male, he pinned him down on the ground. Kai was gone and a wild animal had taken his place. And like a wild animal, it looked at him with hungry eyes, ready to devour him.

"Kai, please!"

Once again, it didn't work. It was then that Aichi remembered the last time Kai got like this and how he managed to snap out of it. The blue haired male raised his hand between them and let out a flash of light, blinding the creature. Like the last time, monstrous roars let out as the demon was blinded, and changed to gasps, showing that he had returned to normal.

"What's going on?!" Kai cried out; his head turning back and forth frantically as he tried to regain his sight.

Aichi let out a sigh of relief. "You're back to normal! I'm glad…"

Upon hearing that, the brunet turned his head facing the direction he heard the younger male's voice and panicked. "'Back to normal'?! What happened?! Did I… Did I hurt you again?!"

"No." Aichi replied, moving closer to the confused male and stroking the spiky brown locks. "Everything's fine."

But that did not ease the older male's anxiety. As soon as he regained his sight, he pulled himself away from the blue haired male, trying to create distance between the two. "Stay away…" he told the winged male, his voice wavering. "I may lose control again… no, I will lose control again… even now, I can feel my head getting jumbled… and the scent…"

The last bit of that sentence caught Aichi's attention. "Scent? What scent?"

"...Whenever I'm with you…" Kai groaned, "There is a scent… one whiff and I feel…" And suddenly, Aichi knew what was going on. If what he was thinking was indeed the case, then in order to calm Kai down…

Aichi's entire face turned red at the thought. It was one of the last things he had considered doing. Sure, there was no guarantee that it would work, but he knew he had to try for Kai's sake. Watching as the older male was rolling on the ground, trying to regain full control of himself looked painful. He wanted to free him of that pain. His determination set, Aichi rushed to the bag of items and pulled out something he picked out just in case of something like this happening; a pair of handcuffs. He then quickly made his way to Kai's side and though he had a little issue trying to get the brunet in the right position and staying that way, he managed to get them on.

With the handcuffs now on, it would be harder for Kai's demonic side to attack anyone, especially not Aichi. The winged male took a deep breath as he lowered himself to the ground, sitting near Kai. "Kai," he began, "I think I know a way to help make it stop, but I want you to give me the okay before I do so."

A growl escaped the older male's lips as his control grew weaker. "You don't need to ask me!" he shouted. "Just do it!"

Even with Kai's harsh approval, Aichi was still nervous with what he would be doing. He was also worried that that since the older male had no idea what the blue haired boy was about to do, he may be allowing it not knowing what he was going to get himself into. "Kai, you should know that I'm going to-!"

"I don't care what it is you need to do!" Kai roared. "I really don't! If you think it'll help then-!" Another roar escaped. "Just hurry!"

The winged male took another deep breath. "Okay… Just please don't get mad for what I'm about to do…"

"I told you I don't care! Just do it Ai-!"

*This scene has been cut out in regards to site regulations due to sexual themes. The full scene can be read on AO3.*

"...What have I done…?!"

Aichi ran to the bathroom, leaving Kai lying on the ground, handcuffed. The older male had slowly regained his senses after a couple more minutes and during that time, he too began to realize what had just happened. Aichi had touched his… and Kai, he… and then they...

Recalling the recent events caused Kai's face to turn a bright scarlet. He couldn't believe that had just happened. Worst of all, he couldn't believe he ended up dragging Aichi into this. He looked around only to find the winged male was nowhere to be found. He called out for the younger male, getting a yelp in response coming from the bathroom.

He knew that sound anywhere.

"Aichi?" he called out, trying to make his way to the door but was unable to get up with his arms handcuffed behind him. "Are you okay?"

From inside the bathroom, Aichi was leaning against the wall, mortified for what had conspired the past half an hour at most. He couldn't believe the first time he touched himself in such a manner, it was while trying to help Kai. He wasn't sure how he could face him.

"Answer me, Aichi! Are you okay?!" he could hear Kai's voice from behind the door again.

He knew he couldn't hide in the bathroom for too long. He didn't want to keep the older male waiting. Besides, he couldn't keep Kai handcuffed. He took a deep breath as he calmed himself down before heading out the bathroom, facing the music.

Cerulean eyes met teal as Aichi walked over to Kai. "Are you feeling better now?" he asked out of concern. "Should I take the handcuffs off?"

"Leave them on." Kai responded. "I've regained control for now but who knows how long it'll last. Instead, I want you to tell me what the hell just happened."

Aichi lowered his gaze. "Of course. You need to know." He sat down in front of the brunet. "I wasn't one hundred percent certain about this, but considering you have your senses back, it confirms my theory. Kai; you were in heat."

Silence filled the room as Kai tried to process what was just said to him. "In heat?" he asked as soon as he got his voice back. "You make it sound like some wild animal. Although… I guess I am given what has happened the past week or so."

"That's not all." the prince continued. "If we consider in addition to your heat your ability to breathe fire as well as your immunity to it… those are traits of a red dragon…"

Teal eyes widened. "A red dragon?! Me, a dragon?!"

"I know, it sounds strange. I mean, supposing it's true and you are a red dragon, why do you look like a human? As far as I know, transformation magic doesn't exist."

"So then I'm not a dragon."

Aichi shook his head. "We can't cross that possibility out just yet. I'm not saying transformation magic doesn't exist, just that it's beyond my knowledge. Besides, I can't think of anything else it could be."

Kai adjusted himself so he could sit more comfortably. "Then supposing that's true and I was going through my heat period… I'm not an expert on biology but doesn't the timing seem… off?"

"What do you mean?" the winged male asked out of confusion.

"Like… the times I go into heat are so close together."

Aichi pondered this. He walked over to the bed and reached into the bag, pulling out a pen and notepad. He then sat down on the bed, opened up the notepad, and began writing. "When would you say was the earliest time you might've gone into heat?" He blushed. "It… doesn't have to have been… as intense as it was today."

It was now Kai's turn to think. The earliest he could think of... "I think it was the day after you appeared so July 30th."

From that point, they went over all the days Kai had supposedly gone into heat; the night of the summer festival, their slow dance, the night he bit Aichi, the first time they kissed. As they recalled the days those events took place on, they noticed that Kai was indeed right and his heat was irregular. After the first time Kai went into heat (which wasn't even that bad), it didn't start up again until after a week had passed, at which point his heat would pop up almost daily and grew more intense.

"That doesn't make sense though." Aichi spoke up after looking at the schedule he had written down. "Even ignoring the possibility that you are a red dragon, it's impossible to go into heat this frequently."

"It's definitely strange." Kai replied. "Even if we keep in mind that this had not happened to me until you appeared, to suddenly be overwhelmed like this…"

The blue haired male nodded. "I'll monitor your heat cycle and see if we can figure out how we can find a way to keep it stable that… doesn't involve… you know."

It was clear with how he said that that the whole thing was uncomfortable for him. Kai felt guilty. He didn't intend for it to happen. "Aichi… I…"

Aichi gave him an assuring smile as he shook his head. "Don't worry about it. What's done is done."

So he said, but after that, the rest of the day was spent in awkward silence. Neither could start a conversation, which was not that unusual for Kai, but Aichi was usually one who couldn't last five minutes without talking. The brunet worried for the other male, but whenever he tried to bring the subject up, Aichi would try to avoid the topic. Even when they both agreed that it was safe to take Kai's handcuffs off, they barely spoke to each other.

But he found the worst of it happened the moment it was time to go to bed. Ever since they started sleeping together, even if they weren't snuggled together, they would still be sleeping close to each other. However, Aichi decided to go to sleep with his back facing Kai and tried to avoid contact when the older male tried to wrap his arm around him. Kai feared that if this kept up, it would damage their relationship.

'I won't allow it!' a voice in the back of his head rang out. 'I'm not going to lose him again! He's mine!'

Kai didn't know where this voice was coming from, but the migraine it brought him was insufferable. He cradled his head in his arms as he laid on the bed, inwardly screaming for the voice to stop, but the voice continued to repeat the same lines; 'I won't give him up.' 'He will stay at my side.' 'He's mine!' The constant pestering eventually made him snap.

"STOP!"

As commanded, the voice disappeared from Kai's head. The brunet snapped his head and looked over at the boy beside him, relieved to see that his screaming didn't wake him up. He let out a sigh before resting his head back on the pillow. As he drifted into dreamland, he feared for not only his relationship with Aichi and his self restraint, but also his sanity.

Pinkshuchan: And that was the chapter. As you can see, this chapter did feature a sexual scene. It's definitely not going to be the last, but I won't be posting them on this site in fear of my account taken down. If you guys want to read the full scene, the story is also up on AO3 so you can read it there. It's not necessary to understand the story, but it's there for your viewing pleasure. Read and Review!