The Azure Dragon’s Devotion: An Offering of Three Centuries to You, page 11
“No, that’s not what I was... I just didn’t see him in his office when I passed it,” Kohaku stammered, unsure of how he should conduct himself. If the attendant had openly displayed contempt for him, he could’ve acted however he pleased. But he was so unfamiliar with this cordiality that it left him wrong-footed.
“You came to find him? Ah, how unfortunate! If only the chieftain were here, he would be thrilled to bits. However, it will probably take the chieftain some time before he can reemerge.”
“Reemerge? Where is he now?”
“Would you really like to know?”
The man’s eyes seemed to spark with something, and Kohaku took a step back. “I-It’s not that I’m curious about him or anything!”
“The chieftain will remain in the cave until it passes,” the man easily revealed, ignoring Kohaku’s reflexive retort.
“The cave?”
“Yes, that’s right. The chieftain started his rut today.”
“His rut...”
Kohaku didn’t know anything about heats or ruts, as he’d never experienced them before. This was also his first time learning that a person had to hide away during one.
Now that he thought about it though, it only made sense; Seiryu could transform, so of course he would enter his rut. Considering how many times he’d had matchmaking sessions, it was strange that no one had ever brought it up before. Maybe it was out of consideration for Kohaku, who couldn’t get his heat.
“How long will it last?” Kohaku asked.
“Well, there’s no consistency or pattern, so I can’t give you an estimate.”
“Is that so?”
“It’s not the usual time for his rut. Not even our great chieftain has full control over his emotions, so I’m guessing that they threw off his cycle.”
“I see.” Kohaku knew nothing about ruts or heat cycles, but he didn’t want to admit that, so he pretended like he did.
“Rather than having him hide in his cave every time he has his rut, we would prefer that he get it out of his system.”
“That makes sense.”
“Then, you understand?!”
“Yeah.” Kohaku could sympathize with the Dragon Clan wanting Seiryu to get out of the cave as soon as possible. He wasn’t sure how he could “get it out of his system,” but if there was a way to end the rut faster, then why didn’t they just do something about it? That was one aspect he couldn’t quite understand.
“Ah, thank the heavens! We are in your debt! There’s no time to waste! I’ll take you to the chieftain!”
“Huh?”
“Please make sure you personally tell him what you said to me! Lord Seiryu will be over the moon!”
“Uh, really?” Why did Kohaku need to be the one to tell Seiryu anything, and why would that make Seiryu happy? He was completely lost. But when he saw the man’s desperate expression as he held Kohaku’s hand in a tight grip, he impulsively gave an understanding nod, pretending that he was totally keeping up with the situation.
“Now that things are settled, let’s go!” the man exclaimed as he walked off.
Kohaku found it impossible to turn him down in the face of such enthusiasm. Well, whatever. I’ll go to Seiryu and tell him to deal with his rut. I’m a guest in the village right now, so I don’t mind helping if the task is this simple. After making up his mind, Kohaku followed the man into the forest.
They walked together for a few minutes, and when the cave came into view, the man said, “Lord Seiryu is inside. We can’t draw any closer, so Lord Kohaku, we leave him in your care.”
“Huh?” What do you mean you can’t get any closer? But Kohaku didn’t even have the time to open his mouth before the man turned away and hurried off. Alone in front of the cave, Kohaku hesitated before he refocused. I just have to tell him to come out, and once I finish that, I can go back. “All right.”
Motivated, Kohaku headed toward the cave, but the moment he tried to enter, a growling voice stopped him.
“What are you doing here?” The voice belonged to Seiryu, but he sounded nothing like he usually did. He groaned out the words in a low rumble, as if he were angry or in pain.
“A member of the Dragon Clan asked me to pass along a message.”
From within the cave came the sound of someone clicking their tongue, but surely Kohaku was just hearing things. He’d never seen Seiryu act in such a way before. Granted, he couldn’t see Seiryu right now either, but Seiryu’s irritation was evident, even from his voice.
“They didn’t have to do that.”
A horrible noise, like a beast’s snarling, echoed from the mouth of the cave. If Kohaku and Seiryu could converse like this, then Seiryu was still in human form, but his presence felt so different from normal that it left Kohaku feeling bewildered.
Remembering what he came here for, he opened his mouth and said, “Hurry up and get it out of your system.”
“What did you say?”
“I said to get it out of your system. The other people in the Dragon Clan want you to get back to normal too.”
“Kohaku... Do you have any idea what you’re saying right now?”
Of course not. But Kohaku didn’t want to admit that. “If you just let it out, then your rut will end in no time, right? Instead of cooping yourself up in that cave, why don’t you—”
“There’s no need for that. Get out of here. Now.”
Seiryu had never taken on such a frigid tone when speaking to Kohaku. It felt like someone had punched him in the chest, and Kohaku subconsciously gripped the front of his shirt.
“Did you have to say it like that? I just want you to come out as quickly as—”
“Kohaku. I’m experiencing my rut right now.”
“Yeah, I heard. But so what? Why do you—”
Why do you need to stay in that cave? If there’s something you can do that will enable you to leave, then use that method. And then, things can go back to the way they were until yesterday. That was as far as Kohaku was thinking.
But Seiryu interrupted him before he could finish. “I’m begging you. Please leave this place.”
“Are you...trying to say that my presence is bothering you?” Seiryu had invited Kohaku to drop by whenever he wanted, yet he was also the one trying to chase Kohaku away now. He always did whatever he wanted. This was how things always were between them, with Kohaku forced to go along with Seiryu’s whims.
“I’m truly sorry, but I’m not able to control myself at the moment.”
“So what?”
“Kohaku.” Seiryu’s voice was deeper, more threatening, than it had ever been. “I can’t have you staying around me right now.”
Kohaku gritted his teeth when he heard Seiryu say that. See? You’re always like this. Getting my hopes up and then turning on me without a second thought. “Is that so? Well, sorry about coming here when I’m nothing more than useless deadweight.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about. I just don’t want you to go through any pain, so that’s why I need you to leave immediately.”
What the hell? Irritated, Kohaku asked, “Then, do you have anyone you want me to send over here in my place?”
Maybe Seiryu couldn’t tell Kohaku his secrets, but he could reveal them to another dragon. The question had been Kohaku’s last act of kindness.
Seiryu’s response remained blunt. “Just leave me alone. Don’t let anyone approach this cave.”
All of Kohaku’s attempts at negotiating had fallen on deaf ears. “Fine! Then do whatever you want!”
Kohaku didn’t understand how Seiryu could say that. After all, Seiryu was usually the one getting all up in Kohaku’s business, even when Kohaku protested his behavior. Regardless, the whole encounter had pissed him off to no end. Kohaku stomped away from the cave, but even after returning to his room, he couldn’t settle down. He should’ve been mad that Seiryu was acting this way toward him, but his anger was slowly replaced by anxiety.
What was a rut anyway? Was it really that uncomfortable?
Intrigued, Kohaku approached the bookshelf. He combed through it at random before finding a book that seemed to explain beastfolk’s ruts and heats in detail. Grabbing it off the shelf, Kohaku lay down on the bed and read through it with keen interest. By the time he finished, he could hardly believe what he had just learned.
“What the hell?!” So this is what heats and ruts are?!
Heats and ruts were preparation for having children. Once they were complete and a beastfolk found a mate, they would sleep together in the same bed, and the gods would bless them with a child. That was what Kohaku had thought they were.
But after reading the book’s contents, he felt like his whole world had turned upside down. It said that beastfolk had to connect their bodies to create a child. Though it didn’t go into any detail, it mentioned that the act was deeply pleasurable for both parties, and the mental image was so confusing that Kohaku could only sit there, utterly baffled. The book said that mates would hug each other while naked. Unbelievable.
But thanks to the book, Kohaku now understood why Seiryu had pushed him away. When a beastfolk went through their rut, they became desperate for this bodily connection. The book also mentioned the possibility that a young beastfolk who didn’t have a mate might assault the first person they saw, regardless of who that person was. Since “assault” was the word used, the act could end up causing injury to the victim. That was why Seiryu had chosen to hide away in that cave.
Kohaku felt a little guilty. Just a little, though. Seiryu must have warned Kohaku away out of worry. Kohaku had done something unnecessary, and yet he’d been the one to lose his temper and stomp off. He thought about what he should do. If Seiryu was going through his rut, then Kohaku figured that he shouldn’t draw any closer. Seiryu had also told him not to. Still, that was the first time Seiryu had ever treated Kohaku so coldly, and he couldn’t stop thinking about it.
After yelling “Ah, jeez!” and angrily running his hands through his hair, Kohaku returned to Seiryu. He would keep his distance and apologize from afar. Kohaku was undoubtedly in the wrong this time. He figured he should at least say he was sorry.
But when he saw Seiryu’s cave in the distance, he stopped.
Karin.
There he was, holding some sort of package in his hands. After looking around, Karin slipped into the cave.
“Oh, so that’s how it is.” Kohaku had been under the impression that Seiryu had shooed Kohaku away because he didn’t want to hurt or attack him. But in reality, he had simply been waiting for the person he truly wanted as his mate. “I knew it. It was like that from the beginning.”
The moment Kohaku let his guard down and tried to trust others, this always happened. He’d been right—the only person he could believe in was himself. He was just glad that he had figured out Seiryu’s true intentions before fully opening himself up to him.
“Ridiculous.” Kohaku laughed to himself, but his voice was shaking pathetically.
Why am I so shocked anyway? This isn’t anything new, so stop thinking about it. Stop getting hurt by it. I simply need to stamp out all emotions in my heart and keep on living. Repeating those words to himself, he turned and was about to walk off.
Suddenly, the earth started to rumble. He hurriedly threw himself onto the ground.
What was happening? Had there been a rockslide or something on a nearby mountain? Kohaku peered around but saw nothing out of the ordinary.
At that moment, his sharp ears picked up Seiryu growling from within the cave. The next second, the earth shook again.
For an instant, Kohaku froze, wondering if Seiryu and Karin were snuggling up to each other in the nude at this moment, but he quickly made up his mind and rushed over to the cave. If they were naked together, he would simply do an about-face and leave.
With that thought, he hurried inside the cave. What greeted him was the sight of Seiryu in his draconic form, thrashing about in a rage.
“Hey, what happened?!” Kohaku yelled, sprinting over to Karin, who was sitting on the ground and quaking in fear near Seiryu’s claws.
“I didn’t do anything!” Karin wailed.
“Then why is he freaking out?!”
“I don’t know!”
The entire time they were having their heated exchange, Seiryu’s lashing tail was striking the walls, sending stalactites crashing down. He roared, and the sound echoed off the walls of the cave—it was so loud that Kohaku had to slap his hands over his ears.
“Lord Seiryu!” Karin cried.
Seiryu ignored him and slammed his tail against the ground. The impact left behind a crack, impressing upon Kohaku the utter strength of a dragon. Seiryu had completely lost control—if he didn’t stop, he was going to bring down the entire cave.
“Chieftain!”
Members of the Dragon Clan quickly gathered around Kohaku and Karin; they must have heard the commotion from outside. Among the crowd were the twins and Mashiro, who rushed up to Kohaku and demanded to know what had happened. Kohaku wanted to know the same thing. What had happened? Kohaku had no clue, but he knew that he couldn’t let this continue for much longer.
“The village is going to be destroyed! Chieftain, please calm down! What happened?! Chieftain!”
But Seiryu didn’t respond to the pleas of his clansmen. His rage only grew more intense. Every time he whipped his tail, he shook the entire cave and sent down a rain of rocks.
“No! He’s completely lost control of himself! How could this have happened?!”
“Evacuate the women and children! Oh, what should we do?!”
The Dragon Clan members were at a complete loss. They could only hover around Seiryu and beg him to stop.
“Chieftain, please calm down!”
But the more the Dragon Clan members tried to speak to him, the more enraged Seiryu became. He struck the ground with his tail and tensed, looking for all the world like he was about to rush out of the cave. Kohaku was just as baffled as the rest of them, but he couldn’t just sit around and watch things devolve any further.
Before he’d even realized what he was doing, he ran in front of Seiryu and yelled, “Hey!”
Seiryu froze when he heard Kohaku’s voice. Sparks of magic continued to dance over his draconic body, as if he were trying to warn others away.
Ignoring this, Kohaku climbed on top of Seiryu’s snout and smacked his face, right between his brows. “Enough!” The onlookers were shouting things, but Kohaku ignored them and continued glaring into Seiryu’s eyes. “You’re causing everyone trouble with your rampage! If something pissed you off, just use your words!”
Though he didn’t know the details, he understood that rage had caused this loss of control. The fury Kohaku could sense seething in the cave’s air told him as much. Seeing one of Seiryu’s whiskers floating nearby, Kohaku grabbed it and wielded it like a whip, slapping it against Seiryu’s head.
“He grabbed a whisker!”
“H-How rude!”
The members of the Dragon Clan were still yelling behind him, but Kohaku ignored them. Right now, he was focused on telling Seiryu off. The dragon was much too old to be throwing tantrums like this.
“Your body is so big right now that even rolling around will destroy the village! I’ve never heard of a chieftain wrecking their own home! Can the chieftain of the Dragon Clan really afford to be this pathetic?! Of course he can’t!”
He hit the space between Seiryu’s brows with the whisker one last time. Having returned to his senses somewhat, Seiryu gave Kohaku a look that seemed to whine, But...
“No buts!” Kohaku snapped. “No matter the reason, only a child damages their surroundings when they lose their temper! When did you turn back into a kid?! You’re the chieftain, so why are you causing trouble to the people you’re supposed to protect?!”
What a handful. Kohaku didn’t know what could have ticked Seiryu off this much, but he should’ve used his words rather than jumping straight to violence.
“If you understand what you’ve done, then return to human form and apologize to everyone.”
Seiryu had been listening to Kohaku’s lecture, but at Kohaku’s words, he squeezed his eyes shut in rejection.
“Hey!” Kohaku was about to whip Seiryu with his own whisker again, but before he could do so, Seiryu lowered his head. When Kohaku’s feet touched the ground, Seiryu grabbed his clothes with his mouth, and in one swift motion, curled his body up and placed Kohaku right in the center of the spiral.
“What’s wrong with you?!” Kohaku exclaimed. He managed to crawl back up to the surface and poke his head out of Seiryu’s coiled body, only for Seiryu to make a sad crooning noise and rub his scaly cheek against Kohaku.
“Lord Seiryu, please undo your transformation, and let’s talk things out!” the Dragon Clan members begged.
Seiryu looked away like a pouting child before rubbing his face against Kohaku again.
“Well... In any case, he’s calmed down, so let’s give him some time,” Kohaku said. He tried to jump down, but Seiryu once again grabbed Kohaku’s clothes with his mouth and returned him to the curl of his body. “Hey, enough already. I’m not playing with you!” Every time Kohaku tried to get away, Seiryu repeated the same action. He was so persistent that Kohaku ended up throwing in the towel. “Okay, fine! I’ll stay with you until you’re satisfied, so let me down!”
And that was how Kohaku ended up having to spend time with Seiryu in the cave, just the two of them.
***
After everyone left, Kohaku wrapped himself up in the blanket that Mashiro had handed to him. He then peered up at Seiryu. “You still can’t turn back?”
Seiryu’s response was a despondent rumble.
It was only after they were the last two left in the cave that Kohaku remembered—Seiryu was going through his rut. That was probably why he couldn’t contain his urge for physical contact, and for a while now, he had been rubbing his snout against Kohaku’s cheek and making sad, quiet noises.
A thought kept flipping over and over in Kohaku’s head: Mating with a Dragon Clan member didn’t mean connecting with a dragon’s body, right? He couldn’t envision what “connecting bodies” meant, but when there was such an obvious size difference between a human and a dragon, even pressing up against each other carried the risk of death.
