CHAPTER 361: I AM BREAKING DOWN, AGAIN

[KAWAI]

"You can’t call him back; he won’t let himself come back. He promised to come back only if he killed Yilena Sidorova by sundown," Nana said.

King Zaffuto openly glared at her.

He couldn’t believe that the woman had done this. Nana had been good for so many years. She had stayed in her place and had never tried to undermine anyone or even try to influence the way that the fates acted.

Yet here she was, having commissioned the most dangerous and nearly impossible mission yet. It was a death sentence for Tamiko, and he didn’t even know it.

"Why did you do that to him? You knew what choice he would make. You baited him using the one person he loved the most. You think he will forgive you if he learns the truth? Or do you think he will blame his love and never believe in anything again?

"You used the most innocent and honest connection he had to manipulate him into doing your bidding. We both know how that turned out the last time, Lena. Are you going to play the rough game this time, too?" King Zaffuto asked.

Lord Sadako, who had just reached the three, started trying to understand what the ruckus was about. The king had left the palace fast, and it had taken a minute for Sadako to figure out where he had been exactly.

Now that they were here, it felt like a visit to the past, a past that one of them had been brave enough to face.

With a tired Kosta in the king’s arms, Sadako didn’t need to ask so many questions to understand just a bit of what had happened. This was not alright, and perhaps the mad king was right about what this woman had done.

"Your ultimatum is a cruel one. What if he succeeds? Then what?" Sadako asked the question that no one was ready to ask just yet. There were so many possibilities lingering around.

The kid had always been ready to sacrifice his father and the bond they shared for Kosta. He wouldn’t hesitate for a woman who had just tried to fuck with him. What if he truly succeeded?

What the fuck would happen then?

"He won’t succeed; you know it too. The reality is different from what he knows. Besides, Sanji might not even tell him the truth, so what is there to worry about?" Nana asked, and this time, it was Kosta who laughed defeatedly.

He knew Tamiko.

He knew how intelligent the young prince was.

He knew without a doubt that the dice that had been cast would forever haunt them. It wasn’t even up for any more discussions, and yet the adults who should have used their brains had stalled and tried to buy time that wasn’t even there to hold onto.

It wouldn’t make sense one too many times, but this time, it was a chance at an impossible forever. One that Tamiko didn’t see as possible, because Tamiko was never letting Igor go.

They all knew it, but perhaps they didn’t understand what that meant just yet.

"You don’t understand, do you?" Danny spoke, and they turned to him, like this was the moment they would get their enlightenment.

"You’re the best friend," Nana pointed out.

"And Igor’s biggest hater," Danny said, not mincing his words.

He had still not forgiven Igor for what had happened in Grealor two years ago. Maybe it was because he had a heart that was so stubborn and one that would not rest until it got what it wanted.

Forgiveness was not enough to fix the pain that Tamiko had felt back then. Tamiko may have been willing to move past that day, but Danny couldn’t. He was still heartbroken by the way his best friend had suffered and how shit had been so hard on him and Tamiko.

It wasn’t the kind of thing that anyone wanted to embrace freely and it sucked really bad. Perhaps that was why this was not supposed to make as much sense. But even then, the fates had to make a choice.

"Interesting. I assume you are here because you have something to say?" Nana asked.

Danny just sighed.

"Tamiko won’t let Igor go. If you gave him a deadline of sundown, then for Igor, he would be here in half the time. From what you are talking about, it seems this Yilena personality is important to you, and you don’t want her dead.

"But that’s also interesting, because why the fuck would you challenge a Nakamura-Hinata kid who’s experienced loss more than once – into a choice between a world in which he has his Erasthai, and a world in which he never has Igor Konstantin?

"I say that was stupid on your part, but I suppose we are way past that. You need to think clearly. Is this Yilena real? If yes, do you know where Yilena is? If you don’t, then you all better start looking;

"...The Tamiko I know could fight his father for me, but he would definitely kill his father, for Kostantin. The only question you need to ask yourself is whether this Yilena person is more important to Tamiko than his dearest father.

"If not, then Yilena is going to die today, whether she is a ghost or not," Danny pointed out the obvious. It was like reminding the mad crowd that the devil was on his way.

The devil, who didn’t care about what he had to do as long as there was a smile on Igor Konstantin’s face. This was the devil that had always been loyal to Konstantin, and there wasn’t a person in the realm that would ever have shit to say about that.

Tamiko was the one with a choice, and Igor was always, always going to be his choice. Perhaps that made him a bastard and a crazy one, but for Igor, Tamiko would be anything for the devil to the gods above and beyond.

Maybe they needed to understand that as soon as possible.

"Sanjiro doesn’t know shit about Yilena," Nana said and Kosta stared at his guardian, pleading with his eyes. He knew what this would mean. He knew the danger was lingering and that what he had suspected years and years ago was possibly the truth.

It was not going to be easy for them to change the narrative right now, because Tamiko had already probably agreed to the choice that had been made. This was not okay. It was not how shit was meant to be.

Perhaps the world would have to forgive them for what was about to happen. The skies had long bent one too many times but just this once, the universe would lean in to whatever the fuck Tamiko Hinata wanted.

Because Kosta was the goal.

"But Tamiko will know. He is strong. He has connections with the afterlife and beyond. He has challenged the moon goddess before. He won’t stop at anything... as long as I am happy, Nana. You knew that when you gave him the ultimatum.

"Besides, he said he would only kill Yilena on the condition that you don’t leave; that I am not left alone. But we both know that won’t happen if he kills Yilena, don’t we?" Kosta said, and his guardian started to choke.

There were so many things that could have gone wrong and right there, but then this was the only one that seemed to be screaming at the group that had gathered.

It was even worse than what they had imagined, because the challenge was out there, and the hunter who had been sent out was good at his job, which was to see to it that Igor was happy.

That was the only thing that lingered a little too much.

"What do you mean by the afterlife?" Nana asked, and everyone turned to Igor.

"Tamiko... he... He knew that there would come a time when the enemies of Kawai would try to push him into choosing between me and the kingdom again, and he didn’t want to risk that again. He didn’t want me to feel like a weight on his shoulders.

"So, he cast a black magic spell, open that forced the spirits of the underworld to give in to what he wanted. I don’t know what he offered them, but I know that the spirits in the afterlife would do whatever he asks.

"And if they get asked about Yilena, then there is nothing that will stop him. You already know that. He also has his father’s magic and connection. He has magic that makes him the most dangerous Lycan in the realm, even worse than his father, Nana.

"If you want to change your mind about the challenge, this is the time. I can call out to him and let him know that it is alright, that I am fine with whatever. I just... I can’t lose you, too, and you know that," Igor pointed out, and his guardian sighed.

This seemed like the worst dream out there. It was a horrible one, and yet in the middle of it all were the links that bound them so well to the kingdom. This was a different kind of hell.

This was one that they had dragged themselves into, without even having the help of someone. It was one that they had walked into and they had to figure shit out before Tamiko came back; because he was coming.

Tamiko wouldn’t stop.

It was up to them if they wanted to continue this charade or not.

"The truth is too huge a risk," Nana said defiantly, and they stared at her in shock.

She couldn’t be serious, right?