Fox's house (part 1)

He left the club with a cigarette he sneakily took from Himari while inside, lighting it up. Looking up at the dark sky he thought the stars could never be seen in Tokyo, one could only dream. The smoke he breathed out raised above him, disappearing into cool air. Makio was not in the mood to return home, however, he was kind of sobered up, after this talk he just had. And because of that, he felt more confident than ever. Disregarding the late hour, he took his phone, and opened the app, pressing "call".

No expectations—no disappointment if no one answered. But then, a sleepy voice on the other end startled him.

"Hello?"

His cigarette fell out of his mouth, he checked his phone, eyes as round as two apples. It was Kōga he had called, which means...

"Hello? I was asleep, do you have something urgent to say?" he heard a frosty voice coming from it. He hurriedly put the phone back to his ear, saying, as calmly as he could,

"Yes, hi. I was not aware that you might be sleeping." He closed his eyes, feeling stupid. Silence hung on the line, so he continued, "Indeed, you ignored me, while I needed information, so … I called."

More silence. Makio slapped his knee, mentally cursing himself. "If you're tired, I can—"

He almost hung up, when he heard a lazy reply:

"You are so persistent, aren't you? Just come here. We can talk at my place. Would that satisfy you?"

Makio's eyebrows shot up, he could not help it, seeing a double meaning in those words. "You mean now?!"

"Yes," Kōga yawned. "I’ve sent you the address. Let me know when you’re close, and I’ll let you in."

"Um, are you sure it's okay? It is quite late..."

"Listen, you called, right? That means you wanted to talk, I am inviting you to talk now. Just come and see for yourself. Bye."

Kōga hung up, maybe because he was sleepy, he did not seem to be as flirty and sly when he talked. Makio stared at his phone in disbelief. He hadn’t expected this. This all was a bit strange, Koga's behavior seemed unpredictable somehow.

Surprisingly, the house was not far away at all. He could walk there. Makio's heart trembled in anxious anticipation, as he made his way up the street, forgetting he could have easily teleported there.

As he came closer, all the courage he had after the host club had evaporated, and nervousness crept in. He was overthinking it now, afraid to go to Koga's house. It was a bit too intimate he thought. He, himself, would have never invited a stranger to his personal space, at night no less. This all seemed too sudden, maybe he was too clingy after all?

As he stopped in front of the sleek modern apartment complex, their last conversation playing back in his head, he almost turned around to flee, when he heard:

""I figured you’d waste time standing out here. Perfect timing on my part, I thought you would teleport here though."

Makio turned to see Kōga strolling out of the building, looking effortlessly elegant in slippers and a red silk robe. His hair was perfect, as always, and even now, half-asleep, he wore jewelry. Of course.

"Why are you standing there, come in, you won't be able to enter without me anyway." Kōga waived at Makio, so he had to move.

They walked inside in silence, the elevator taking them up to the 15th floor. Makio’s nerves were kicking in. Makio still thought he had made a mistake. He sneakily peaked at Kōga, who looked sleepy, which seemed cute somehow. Makio cursed inwardly, killing an attempt to smile.

"Okay, we are here, please follow me." Kōga left first, walking gracefully toward the end of the corridor, ignoring Makio's slow pace somewhere behind him. "You are yet to say anything, weren't you the one who called?" His voice cold, as he pushed the door open, glaring at Makio.

"Khm, yes, well, I did."

Kōga rolled his eyes, "Come in already, the cold is creeping inside!"

"Um, okay, yes."

Makio stepped inside, noticing the sandalwood scent that greeted him. The apartment was smaller than he expected, but stylish—Parisian-inspired, with vintage paintings on the walls, a plush red carpet, and an array of books and magazines scattered around. Huge glass windows. There were several plants too; books and fashion magazines scattered around the couch. There were also two rooms, beside the kitchen, that were hiding behind closed doors. Dim lighting made the place feel oddly intimate.

Kōga dropped onto the sofa, patting the space next to him. "Sit here, little birdy." It seemed he had woken up by now, a bit of playfulness present in his voice. Makio felt betrayed and wanted the sleepy Kōga back. He came closer, however, demurely sat on the other side of the couch, hearing a sneer, and a "Why so far away?" Kōga smirked. "Afraid I’ll bite?»

Makio rolled his eyes. "That’s cheap. Even for you."

"What? This apartment?" Kōga played dumb, making Makio regret his choice of coming here once again, "But it is so expensive, actually! Most of my salary goes into paying rent here."

"You know full well what I am talking about..." He felt tired, and unmotivated to explain.

"Sure," Kōga smiled, a bit more serious now."Let's talk about what you wanted to, and get done with it."

"Kōga...I," Makio paused noticing a change in Koga's face, and feeling awkwardly using his name, "I wanted to ask you why you decided to leave those notes for the girl? Her name is Sora, by the way. Was it because you saw the pink mist around her?"

Kōga shifted, facing him, pushing one leg onto the other."Listen, birdy, " He looked quite elegant sitting this way, his robe turning a bit, exposing part of his collarbone, making Makio's heart skip a bit from the view.

Kōga did not notice, however, saying, "I am not someone who runs around helping people, so just you know. But yes, we bumped into each other, and I saw her nearest future, and then I saw the mist, I kind of puzzled it all together, I mean she looks pretty delicious for middle-powered yokai with this power of hers. I don't want it, so I don't care. But I don't want her to be consumed by some creepy asshole, you know?"

"So you know what it can give you once consumed?" Makio's face showed interest, that he forgot to suppress.

"And you don't?" Kōga looked confused, one eyebrow raised he was checking Makio's words, "Interesting. I wonder why..."

"Well, maybe you can just tell me..."Makio gestured, annoyed, for him to elaborate.

"It would be easy if I explained it all to you, wouldn't it? But then it's no fun! Kōga teased. "I like helping, but I like watching drama unfold even more."

Makio suddenly stood up, "Why are you provoking me? Stop doing this, you know full well this is not funny, and she is not entertainment for you. She is a real human, who can be in danger because of that "aura" of hers!"

Kōga watched him, amused, licking his lips like a cat. Makio, flushed and angry, looked like a child throwing a tantrum. Kōga wanted to do something inappropriate with that face of his. Makio stood there, breathing heavily.

"Why are you not saying anything? It is a joke to you, isn't it? I feel stupid for coming here, but now I won't leave before you tell me what's going on, and what do you know. " Makio was fuming, his eyes glistened with emotion, as he looked down at Koga's calm face.

Kōga continued to ignore him, staring at Makio's neck with desire in his eyes. He then put his legs down and grabbed Makio's wrist pulling him onto his lap. Makio did not expect this type of offense, and fell onto Kōga. He turned bright red, thinking it was exactly like a scene from yaoi before some interesting development. He was not sure what he felt about that though, as he was not feeling like he wanted to stand up right away. However, it was still unprecedented that someone dared to act so cocky with him, so he protested:

"What do you think you are doing? Let me go!"

"Sure, Maki-kun,» Kōga whispered into the other's ear, sending a shiver down his spine. Makio has never felt like this before, and as if aware of his impact, Kōga continued, too close to him, "I am not pulling or restraining you in any way, so you can stand up if you want to."

Hearing these words Makio wanted to run away. Or better, evaporate here and forever. But in a moment he realized that while he was in this position, Kōga could not see his embarrassed, smitten face, so he decided to let it go, staying like this. He decided to give up. You lose some, you win some. Kōga will not get the chance to win by seeing his face, never!

As Kōga wanted to move and look at Makio, he felt the bird embracing him tighter. Kōga, fully surprised, misinterpreted it as a gesture of seduction, smiling to himself in satisfaction. That was something he would expect from a man. He placed a hand on Makio’s back, pulling him closer. "You’re full of surprises, birdy."

Makio’s heart pounded in his chest. He had to end this. "Kōga," he said quietly, "this isn’t what you think. It’s... nice, but it’s too soon. I’m not comfortable with this. I have to ask you to let me go, and explain what you know about the power." He felt the hand disappearing from his back. Koga’s playful demeanor vanished, replaced by irritation.

"Are you serious right now? What is wrong with you? I can not understand you at all. What do you want then?" Kōga lost his composure, pushing the other person away from him.

"Wait, I told you what I want..." Makio felt confused, landing on the other side of the couch.

Kōga closed his eyes in annoyance, saying quietly, "I swear to god, you are either the most genius supervillain I have ever met or the dumbest person I have ever met," he paused, "I guess from what Nami told me..." He looked at Makio, disappointment in his eyes, "You are the latter."

"I do not understand what did you expect of me. I was upfront about what I wanted from the very beginning!" Makio felt utterly wronged. He never played any games, or hinted at anything, that could be misinterpreted. He was dumb when it came to relationships. "I mean I was not very clear yesterday, I admit, but you knew all day today about my true intentions anyway!"

Kōga did not like what he had just heard, turning away. They sat in awkward silence. Makio was sneaking glances at Kōga, while the other was hiding his pissed-off face away. In several moments Makio heard him say in his calm voice:

"Okay, I got that. I am making some coffee, if you don't mind. Do you want some?"

"Em, okay?" Makio looked as Kōga stood up, walking to the kitchen, never sparing him a glance. He looked troubled. Makio cleared his throat, "Will you tell me about the power then?"

"Yes! Shut up already. I will just let me be for a moment, okay?" He adjusted his robe, taking out the coffee machinery. He really was cute when he was out of his feigned character, Makio thought. As he observed him closer, he noticed that two ears popped up on Koga's head. Makio almost lost it, as it was so unexpectedly cute, and it matched Koga's hair too. He blushed slightly, looking away. Kōga was still ignoring him, pouring water in circular motions, onto the coffee in the filter. Being an ultimately confident person, Kōga never felt awkward, letting go of what just happened easily.