The Strange Toshiro

[TAMIKO]

"Who? The fuck. Dared to disturb MY peace!!!!" The lycan king's voice boomed as everyone went into silence. They knew better than to do anything and right now, they were sure they were dead meat.

They hadn't seen the king in days and frankly, the fact that he hadn't said shit until today, reminded them of the man they had been used to, over the past years. The good king who was as dark as dawn. 

Zaffuto was cruel and everything in between hell and even worse hell. King Zaffuto was the farthest thing from sainthood and with the first chaos that he had heard. The lycans were sure he would kill someone today.

'What the hell is that, Chief?' Sadako asked Kosta in the mind link and Igor had the pleasure of being proud of his mate. 

He knew that the king would probably want Tamiko dead, but that didn't matter right now, because it was more than clear that Lord Sadako wouldn't let anything happen to his nephew. 

Perhaps that was also why Sadako infiltrated the entire emergency mind link system of the Kawai lycans and made a strange announcement. One that got the lycan king wondering what the fuck Lord Sadako was on. 

But then he trusted his brother, so he listened too. After all, Sadako never did things on a whim.

'I know we are all scared and we know the king is definitely pissed as fuck. But I'm going to need everyone to act like this is just a normal day, with normal interactions between lycans and no idea of the king, alright? 

"I need everyone to do everything except look scared if Zaffuto comes out of his room. If you pull a good performance and hide your fear of my brother, I will throw a party tomorrow, for five days. 

"I never ask anything of all of you, but just this once, please,' Lord Sadako said and the lycans looked at the lycan Lord and then at Sanji who was nursing wounds from the fall. 

They all knew that it had to be really important for the lycan Lord if he had said 'please.' Lord Sadako had been a good lycan enforcer to them all, despite being the most ruthless man in the kingdom after the lycan king. 

So they chose to trust him. 

And so in response, the lycan Lord had the pleasure of listening to the lycans agreeing to what he had suggested. 

Even his brother agreed on their private mind link. But Zaffuto had questions too. However, he had a feeling that this wasn't the time to ask anything. He knew that his brother had been left with no option if he was that desperate. 

"I was so close to winning the damn fucking game and someone interrupted me! Do you know how hard it was to beat Lord Sadako at chess???" the dark king asked disappointeldy, as he walked out looking like a servant. 

He looked like he had been assigned to clean the lycan Lord's room, and had gotten lost in playing the game of chess with the man that many loved. 

How he had shown up from Lord Sadako's room was a mystery that even his brother didn't know, but perhaps it was because of his ability. Well, that was something that they didn't have enough time to do.

"Oh, please, you keep losing the games. Tell me, how many scores did you get, Toshiro? I clearly kicked your ass today too, but hey, blame it on poor Sanji, hmm" the lycan Lord asked and his brother looked at him, knowing that this was directed at him.

"I know I could kick your ass anytime. Anyway, what happened, and why the hell is Sanji on the ground? Who did he piss off this time? Oh Sanji, we told you to never play games with mates. Were you at it again?" the lycan king said as he walked down the stairs. 

His statement was so calculative like he had been keeping track of everything people did. It was creepy as hell, but then the king also didn't have a choice but to take a sneak peek into Sanji's head and the kinds of trouble he always got into.

At least that would give him a hint, and the fact that Tamiko was pissed at him for the same, led the lycan king to that conclusion. Sure, it was a risk, but weren't they all fulfilling the lycan Lord's wish at this moment anyway?

King Zaffuto looked so different and easily passed for a commoner working in the palace. It was strange and even as the lycans trembled, they made sure not to show it, because if the Lycan king himself had joined the ruse, then it had to be very important.

"So that's what he does, huh? Playing games with people's mates? What the hell is even wrong with you?" Tamiko said as he walked down the stairs in literal seconds, and boy those stairs were long.

Tamiko was mad at Sanji, and instead of Igor helping him, he just watched amusedly yet so very carefully.

Chief Igor Konstantin wasn't sure what this was supposed to be, but he knew for a fact that this was easily the most delicate situation that any Lycan in Kawai had ever experienced. 

People were holding their breaths as they continued what they were doing in an attempt to appear normal. It was crazy how the situation had gotten, but what other option was there for them? 

One wrong move from someone and the covers would certainly be blown, which meant that there would be more deaths than just a Sanji who was snapping his bones back together and standing up.

"Well, if you put it like that, it sounds like I'm a homewrecker," Sanji said casually, though he was terrified.

In response to Sanji's statement, the lycan king was the first to laugh, shocking Sadako himself and even his lycans. 

Who was this and where was the king they had known? 

Where was the man they couldn't even share a damn hallway with? 

Was he really going to be interacting with them casually like this? 

"Aren't you? Your conversation with Kosta made it sound like I was a damn plaything. Anyway, you can have him. I am leaving. I don't even know why I agreed to this. What the hell?" Tamiko cursed as he tried to look for an exit. 

He looked so frustrated, even as the king came closer to him. Usually, the aura of the dark king always scared people to the point that they subconsciously stepped back. However, Tamiko wasn't scared of the king.

Perhaps it was because they had the same aura, right?

After all, blood did recognize blood.

Was that what was happening?

"Oh, come now. Don't be mad because of Sanji. If you wish, we can send him to the dark king. Since he showed up last week, he hasn't shown his face. Perhaps we could sacrifice Sanji to him, and buy our lives in case he comes to murder us for the noise. 

"What do you think?" the king said as he looked at the young lycan who was so frustrated before him.

Once again, Lord Sadako was holding his breath. He wasn't sure what Tamiko would decide, and he wasn't sure that this was the right time for the father and son to know each other.

"I don't think my Erasthai is that cruel, Toshiro," Kosta said as he jumped from the balcony and came to Tamiko, entwining his hands with Tamiko's as he silently made a prayer to the goddess to get them through these times. 

He wasn't sure what he was doing, but all he could tell was that everyone in Kawai was silently saying a prayer. They weren't sure what the prayer was for, but it seemed necessary to say a prayer to the moon goddess at that point.

"Damn chief, you got a mate? Congratulations!" the king said and Igor was even more confused. What the hell was the Dark King playing at?

"What do you say, uhh… sorry, I don't know your name," the king said and Tamiko sighed. 

The man in front of him seemed like a good person and it wouldn't be fair to turn his anger towards him. Just because he was upset with Igor, and his little Sanji show, didn't mean that he was going to make someone suffer.

"I'm Tamiko, but my Uncle calls me Hinata."

"A name fit for a mother's little prince and a ray of sunshine," King Zaffuto said softly.

"Yeah, that's what he said too."

"Well, nice to meet you, Hinata. I am Toshiro, and I hope to see you often."