Kirihito opened his eyes, but his eyelids felt heavy as rocks, weighed down by the remnants of a nightmare. He blinked a few times, trying to clear the blurry haze from his vision.
He saw the familiar wooden ceiling of the safe house where Xio kept him. Safety. Or at least, seclusion.
He tried to recall what had happened in the dream—or was it an illusion?—earlier. Instantly, a sharp, splitting pain hit his skull, as if a hammer had struck a bell inside his head.
"Ngh..."
He bit his lower lip to stop himself from groaning too loud, his throat feeling like dry wood scraping together. His trembling, pale hand immediately flew to his messy black hair, searching. His fingers brushed only skin and hair.
The jewels. The shiny things he always wore. They were gone.
Panic flared in his chest, hot and childish. They must have been removed by Xio.
"Butterfly...?" he called out softly, his voice broken and raspy from the fever as he looked around the dim room.
"Sleep... you are sick... dangerously so," Xio said from beside the bed.
He was sitting there, his golden mask removed for the safety of the room, looking tired but alert. He adjusted the blanket, covering Kirihito properly up to his chin. His voice carried a mix of concern and silent, simmering anger.
"I told you not to dance there," Xio scolded, dipping a cloth into cool water. "I wasn't even able to move to stop those curses... You were almost about to die if I wasn't there."
Kirihito blinked sleepily. The blanket made him feel safe, a cocoon against the cold world. His red eyes were half-covered by his bangs, his skin as white as a sheet of paper.
Xio's scolding was barely registering in his ears. All he could think about was the illusion. It hurt to remember, but the words echoed in the hollows of his mind:
One hundred days of time... not less... not more.
He realized with a sinking dread what it meant. His time was running out. The contract he had made... the clock was ticking. No wonder so many disasters had happened in the past three days alone. The world was accelerating toward his end.
"Are you even hearing me, Wèi Yīlíng??" Xio called again, his voice sharper this time, snapping the cord of dark thoughts. "You have been unconscious for five hours... it is midnight already... you haven't even eaten anything."
From behind Xio's shoulder, a small white head peeked out. The White Snake. Her thin tongue flickered out softly, tasting the air for Kirihito's condition.
"Wèi... is hearing... stop talking loudly... Wèi's ears hurt..." Kirihito complained weakly, bringing his hands up to cover his ears. His half-lidded eyes drifted to the white snake.
"Why will I not talk? If I don't talk, you'll die of stupidity," Xio muttered, though his actions were gentle. He picked up a bowl of warm broth with rice noodles. He blew on a spoonful, cooling it, before bringing it to Kirihito's lips. "Quickly, get up... you have to eat."
Kirihito huffed, a sound devoid of his usual arrogance, and parted his lips. He ate the noodles slowly, the warmth spreading through his chest.
As he chewed, his gaze fixed on the snake. He remembered the flash of white hair, the female form in the battle. He felt conflicted. He usually hated female yokai—they were troublesome. But she had saved him.
"Where is Snakie? Is he that... female snake Wèi saw?" he asked between swallows, watching as the snake tried to hide behind Xio's neck.
"Yes, it was she... she helped me to save you," Xio said. He reached back, gently took the snake, and placed her on the bed.
The snake curled up tightly, as if shy about being exposed. She had hidden her true nature the whole time, afraid of rejection. Her red, doe-like eyes looked up at Kirihito, a last attempt to charm him, terrified that their friendship—or whatever this bond was—would break.
"Wèi... hates female insects..." Kirihito mumbled weakly.
The snake flinched.
But then, Kirihito moved his hand. He placed his pale palm gently over the white snake's head, lowering her onto his chest.
"But... Wèi will have to think about you a bit... since no female insect has ever been... helpful for Wèi before," Kirihito finished.
The white snake looked up, surprised.
"R...Really??" she suddenly spoke. Her voice was soft, slightly sibilant, vibrating against his chest as she slithered closer to his face.
Kirihito huffed lazily and turned his head away, burying his nose into the pillow. "Wèi said Wèi will think... don't make Wèi change his mind..."
Xio sighed, the tension in his shoulders relaxing as the situation lightened. He reached out and gently brushed the hair away from Kirihito's feverish forehead, then picked up the snake to give the patient space.
"Leave him be... he is already disturbed by something," Xio whispered to the snake.
The snake nodded once, understanding.
Kirihito nodded slightly into the pillow, agreeing. He was disturbed... and distracted. He needed space to think about the hundred days.
A comfortable silence filled the room as Xio continued to feed him until the bowl was empty.
After some time, the rhythm of recovery took over. Kirihito fell asleep again, his breathing deepening, though his thin eyebrows still twitched with uneasy thoughts.
Xio looked at him with pity. He checked the time; it was late. He had to return to the Lanxie clan, or his uncle Kageou would get suspicious. Suspicion was dangerous for a double agent.
"I have to leave... I will come tomorrow," Xio whispered to the white snake, who had taken a guardian position at the foot of the bed. "Could you take care of him?"
"Of course... I will never get tired of it," the snake replied, giving a long bow with her upper body to show her seriousness.
"Alright then..." Xio stood up, adjusting his robes. He looked around the room, frowning. "Can you really tell where Xì went? He is suspiciously nowhere to be found, and usually, he isn't ready to leave Wèi's side..."
Xì—the Crow, the Dark Voice. His absence was alarming.
The snake tilted her head, remembering. A flicker of jealousy crossed her eyes. "I just heard that he gave Wèi a bet... to bring him the best 'fatless human blood'... and then, Wèi has to give him that 'bed thing' he has been wanting... so he might be searching for the blood."
Xio blinked.
What type of bet is that?
The blood part was gruesome enough, but the "bed thing"? Xio's eyes narrowed. He was sure the naive Kirihito didn't understand what he had agreed to, but the Crow certainly did. That ancient spirit was cooking something darker than just a meal.
"Then my bet for you..." Xio pointed a gloved finger at the snake. "You will not. Let. That Crow do anything... since I can't break his legs by myself right now."
Xio lowered the snake back onto the bed beside Kirihito, who was sleeping deeply now, his body temperature finally cooling thanks to the warm food and the cleaning Xio had done.
"What will I get in return?" she asked, giving him a dry look.
"Wèi has already said what he will give you... that is what I will give too. Stay happy with this," Xio said without interest, crossing his arms.
She sighed, turning toward Kirihito and shifting briefly into a larger form before settling back down. "Fine... I will take care of him."
"You too..." Xio added, his voice dropping to a warning growl. "Do not do... anything unholy with him."
She blinked, offended. "I am not that cheap... and you stop acting like you own him. I met him first."
Xio turned away, jaw tightening. The word 'own' hit home strangely. He didn't own the Yokai... did he?
"Fine... Mark my words... I will really slice you if you cross any line."
With that final threat, he grabbed his golden owl mask and left the house.
He stood outside for a moment, his hands moving rapidly as he resealed the door with complex barriers. The house vanished from sight, blending perfectly into the forest.
He hoped Kirihito would heal soon. But for now, he had a role to play.
The forest felt silent and heavy around him. He couldn't shake the unease of what had happened on the stage. Maybe he needed to check on Wèi more often... special grade curses were unpredictable, and insect venom was tricky.
Thoughts clouding his head, he summoned his shadow owl again. It screeched silently, merging with the night.
Xio took one last look at the empty space where the house stood hidden, then turned and vanished into the darkness, heading for the Lanxie clan before dawn broke.