Page 93 of All That Has Flown Beyond
“I’m not trying to convince anybody. It is what it is.”
Mori looked at him with his steady, bright eyes. “Junpei was right, you know. You smell like him.” The comment was not accusatory, simply observing. Still, it made Kaiyo stiffen defensively.
“It’s…”
“None of my business probably. I only mention it because I shouldn’t scent mark you, huh?” Mori asked, a question that contained many.
Kaiyo looked down at his cup of tea. He loved Mori. Loved how unapologetically himself he was, how kind but sharp, how loyal and witty. But he wasn’tinlove with him. There was no reason not to be, only that emotions existed beyond reason, reacting to the world at a primal level that couldn’t be conquered by pure logic.
No, Kaiyo didn’t want to be scent marked by Mori and all that entailed. He dreaded what that really meant.
“I’m sorry,” Kaiyo said. Mori took hold of his hand, and Kaiyo looked up.
“Don’t be. I’m happy to know you,” Mori said. He squeezed Kaiyo’s hand before pulling away.
Kaiyo sighed. There wasn’t much he could say.
Mori took a sip of his drink. “This is…very bad tea,” he said.
Kaiyo laughed. “Snob.”
“Japanese,” Mori corrected.
Kaiyo rolled his eyes, smiling. “So am I. Half, anyway.”
Mori shook his head. “Not your tongue. That was killed by the Americans.”
Kaiyo laughed again, looking at his friend.
**********
The packs warmed up to each other. Kaiyo left his necklace at home, and the Garrows’ scent on him seemed to calm them down enough to facilitate hospitality, even from Isla. Junpei wasn’t happy about it, but his naturally cheerful personality soon cracked through.
Kaiyo invited his mom to join them during one of their get-togethers and watched the packs interact as he sat next to her.
“Good to be here, kiddo?” she asked. Kaiyo looked at her.
“Yeah. It is.”
On one of the last days of the visit, Kaiyo took the opportunity to show the Garrows the fighting style the Kanbaras were trained in by sparring with Mori. Kaiyo knew all of Mori’s tricks and was used to fighting creatures with physical advantages over him. As difficult as the fight was, he ended up beating Mori. They bowed to each other when they finished, Mori smiling good-naturedly as Isla cheered.
“Can I have a round?” Ahmik asked Kaiyo, who raised his eyebrows.
“Didn’t you have enough last time?” Kaiyo teased but waved him into the sparring circle they had drawn. Ahmik just smiled, taking position.
The fight did not go as Kaiyo expected. Instead of Ahmik’s usual brash fighting style, he was slow and watchful. He knew about the traps etched on Kaiyo’s skin now and refused to get too close.
Kaiyo narrowed his eyes as they circled each other. The change in style had already thrown Kaiyo off, and he attacked before he normally would have, impatient to get the fight going. Instead of blocking him like Kaiyo had been hoping, Ahmik simply sidestepped him, not allowing for skin-to-skin contact that would allow the use of most of Kaiyo’s tattooed runes.
The fight flowed more like a dance. They moved around each other with rhythm until Kaiyo got lost in the song. He attempted to get close, but Ahmik skipped away only to jab sharply at Kaiyo over his clothes. Kaiyo grunted, but it happened again and again, completely unlike a shifter’s normal fighting style.
Kaiyo made a startled noise as a quick series of moves from Ahmik left him confused for just long enough to have his feet swept from under him. He fell backwards, but Ahmik caught his wrists to soften the fall. He pinned them to the ground, avoiding Kaiyo brushing his fingers against a rune and activating it.
“One. Two. Three,” Ahmik teased, grinning at him from where he was straddling Kaiyo.
“Cheater,” Kaiyo said, but he was smiling too. Ahmik just shook his head, leaning in a little closer.
“No. I just know you,” he said quietly, and wasn’t that a terrifying thought?
