"What?!"

Had Kohu just said what she thought he did? Take her under his wing? Reiko couldn't do anything but stare at him in shock, her jaw hanging open.

"Don't think that I'm offering you this because I'm fond of you. We just need as many fertile women as possible." Kohu scoffed. "If you were married to someone else, then Samickle could finally stop his ridiculous infatuation with you. He's the future chief, he needs a strong companion, someone accepted by the whole tribe."

"You mean...that I should… with you..?!" Reiko couldn't believe her ears. Did he just seriously offer her to marry him, for the sake of their tribe's survival?

"It's a pity you're not a shifter, but if you'd give me a litter of cubs, I'd be happy." Kohu looked at her, his dark eyes behind his mask fixated on hers.

Reiko fell silent. She didn't know what to say. Kohu was the last person she'd expected to propose to her. He was rough, and not afraid to say what was on his mind. She had somewhat always disliked him, and he surely had disliked her. Or at least, that was what she had thought. But now, when she thought about it, there had been other feelings behind his cold behaviour. She knew he was protective of Samickle, but she hadn't realised how much. He had tried to discourage her from getting close to Samickle, not because he hated her, but because he didn't want his friend to get in trouble.

"I..." Reiko hesitated. "I just didn't-" The rest of her words got stuck in her throat when she saw Kohu approaching her bed.

"Would it be that bad?" He leaned in, resting his hand on the bed. His scent, the smell of pine and tar, filled her nose and her heart began racing. Kohu was a broad shouldered, well-built young man, his physique very much resembling the animal on his mask. Reiko had never considered him, but now, when she was sitting there, her eyes locked with his, she could feel her cheeks warming up. At this moment, she could understand how naked the Oina probably felt without their masks; She wished she was wearing hers right now..!

"No, I- I mean-!" She stuttered, but was unable to find words.

"Then, would it be a problem if I...?" His other hand moved towards her face, him slowly leaning closer. She felt his fingers brush against her skin, and she shivered. Kohu's eyes glinted as his thumb traced her lower lip, and Reiko's lips parted slightly. He was so close— Her heartbeat was so loud, she was certain he could hear it too.

The sudden knocking on the door made them both jump, and they quickly moved apart.

"Yes, who is it?" Reiko asked, trying her best to sound casual.

"Reiko! Are you awake?" Tuskle's familiar voice sounded from behind the door. "I'm coming in!" The old woman entered the room, and gave the two youngsters a surprised look.

"Oh, Kohu, you're still here." She said, closing the door behind her.

"I was just about to leave." Kohu cleared his throat and stood up. "See you around."

With that, he left the hut. As Kohu stepped outside, he felt his face flush, and he let out a groan.

"Damn it..." He growled, pulling his hand through his shaggy, dark brown hair. What was he doing? Was he actually trying to seduce her, just to show Samickle that he was wrong..? No, he knew it wasn't that.

When Kohu saw Samickle and Reiko together, he felt something he didn't quite understand. Seeing his friend, the one who was always so confident and collected, become a love-struck fool around a girl made him furious. Not only that, he was angry with Reiko too, for allowing him to get so close to her, when she wasn't interested. But it didn't take long for Kohu to realise that she wasn't the person he had thought she was; She was kind, caring, and strong-willed. When she was willing to help him and his friends, despite him being rude to her, he couldn't help but to respect her. He had found himself glancing at her when he thought no one would notice, and whenever Samickle was talking with her, or simply near her, his blood began boiling. Now, Kohu was starting to understand the true reason behind his feelings.

"This is gonna be a mess..." Kohu groaned, rubbing the back of his head. He had just made a fool out of himself, trying to make a move on a girl who wasn't his to begin with. But, he couldn't help but to wonder how the situation would've unfolded if they hadn't been interrupted; He would've taken off his mask, pushed her onto the bed and kissed her. Kohu felt his blood rush straight south when the image of a flustered Reiko came to his mind, her eyes glazed and her lips parted. Damn, he wanted to see that. "Shit... It's not even a mating season yet..!"

Correcting the position of the mask on his face, Kohu let out a deep sigh. He should go to his own hut and get some sleep. He'd been awake all night, after all. He was about to do just that, but then he caught a whiff of a familiar scent— He scanned the area with his gaze, noticing a trail of paw prints in the snow, circling around Reiko's hut.

"So, you were here all night, as well..." He muttered to himself, his eyes following the trail that led away from the hut.

Meanwhile, back inside the hut, Reiko and Tuskle were chatting, but Reiko was a bit distracted, thinking about what had just happened.

"How are you feeling?" Tuskle asked, a bit concerned about her friend's odd behaviour.

"Uh, I'm... alright, I guess." Reiko sighed, her hand unconsciously reaching towards her face. "Just tired, that's all."

"I thought so. It was an exhausting task, to quell the storm, wasn't it?"

"Yeah... How are the others?"

"Haki was found, safe and sound. A little cold, but it's nothing a warm bath couldn't fix." Tuskle smiled. "Everyone made it back safely, thanks to you."

"That's good..."

"What's wrong? Is something bothering you?"

"No, I'm fine, really." Reiko gave the older woman a reassuring smile, but she couldn't quite meet her eyes.

"Alright." Tuskle sighed, but decided not to press her any further. "If anything is bothering you, don't hesitate to talk to me, okay?"

Tuskle left, and Reiko was alone in the hut once again. She felt a knot in her stomach, and she was starting to get a headache. This was not good.

"This is not happening..." She groaned, flopping down onto her bed. The memory of Kohu on her bed flashed before her eyes, and she buried her face into the pillow. What had almost happened? What was she thinking?! She didn't like Kohu, did she..? No, she was just taken by a surprise, and didn't know how to react. Yeah, that's it. But... Why did her body feel so hot, remembering his closeness?

"What is going on?!" Reiko almost howled into the pillow. Yesterday morning her life had been completely normal, but now she had suitors left and right..! And they weren't just ordinary suitors, oh no, they were were-people, shapeshifting, mask-wearing beast men..! She didn't know if she wanted to marry into the tribe, or even if she wanted to stay in Kamui to begin with..!

"Ugh, my head is hurting... I'll think about this later..." Reiko rubbed her temples, and curled up under the blankets. Right now, the only thing she needed was some sleep.